Zakah on a Debt
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
His Eminence the Shaykh: A person has a shop and buys goods from a company on credit. Sometimes he sells these goods to people on credit as well. A lunar year has passed over his assets. How does he pay the zakah on this shop?
As for the debt that people owe him,If the debt is owed to wealthy people, he can say: if he says, "Give me my debt," and they pay it, then zakah is obligatory on him. He pays zakah on it every year. However, if he wishes, he may pay zakah on it along with his other wealth, or he may wait until he receives it and then pay zakah on it for all the years that have passed. This applies if the debt is owed by a wealthy person.
As for a debt owed by a poor person, there is no zakah on it until he receives it. Once he receives it, he pays zakah for one year only, even if many years have passed.
As for the debt that he owes,So the stronger position is: it does not prevent the obligation of zakah. A person who has one thousand dirhams in his hand and owes one thousand dirhams pays zakah on the one thousand dirhams in his hand, because he owns them. The general texts of the Qur'an and the Sunnah indicate that whenever this nisab is found in a person's possession, he is obligated to pay zakah on it.
As for the debt that people owe him,If the debt is owed to wealthy people, he can say: if he says, "Give me my debt," and they pay it, then zakah is obligatory on him. He pays zakah on it every year. However, if he wishes, he may pay zakah on it along with his other wealth, or he may wait until he receives it and then pay zakah on it for all the years that have passed. This applies if the debt is owed by a wealthy person.
As for a debt owed by a poor person, there is no zakah on it until he receives it. Once he receives it, he pays zakah for one year only, even if many years have passed.
As for the debt that he owes,So the stronger position is: it does not prevent the obligation of zakah. A person who has one thousand dirhams in his hand and owes one thousand dirhams pays zakah on the one thousand dirhams in his hand, because he owns them. The general texts of the Qur'an and the Sunnah indicate that whenever this nisab is found in a person's possession, he is obligated to pay zakah on it.