If you lend someone money for several years, is it obligatory for you to pay zakah on this money at the time of the loan or at the time you recover your money for the past period, and if
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : If you lend someone money for several years, is it obligatory for you to pay zakah on this money at the time of the loan or at the time you recover your money for the past period? And if someone buys land to build a house on it, but delays building that house until he has money for the construction, I ask: is he required to pay zakah on this land?
The Shaykh : As for the first issue, which is if a person lends money to another, is there zakah in it?
The answer is: If the money he lent is of a type in which zakah is not obligatory on the item itself, then there is no zakah on him for it, such as if he lent him food like wheat, rice, dates, or the like. In this case, there is no zakah on him for it, because there is no zakah on the item itself.
As for if he lent him dirhams, whether they were gold and silver coins or paper money of this practical currency, the borrower is not free from one of two states:
Either he is rich or he is poor. If he is rich, then the lender must pay zakah on the money he lent at the time zakah becomes obligatory on it. If he is poor, then there is no zakah on him even if it remains with him for years. However, if he pays zakah on it when he receives it back for one year, that is more preferable and more cautious, because at that time it resembles the fruit that a person has utilized, which is subject to zakah at the time of its utilization. If he starts a new lunar year with it, there is no harm. Thus, if the loan is in the two currencies (gold and silver) and is given to a rich person, its zakah is obligatory on the lender every year. If it is given to a poor person, its zakah is not obligatory on him, but when he receives it back, he should pay its zakah for one year, and then whenever a lunar year passes over it, he pays zakah on it. This is regarding the first question.
As for the second question, which is the land that he bought to build on it, but he was unable to build on it due to the lack of means to build, there is no zakah in it. This is because real estate that is not considered for sale and purchase, meaning he does not intend to make a profit by selling and buying it, has no zakah in it, because it is from goods (aydan), and goods do not have obligatory zakah unless they are intended for trade. Accordingly, he does not have to pay zakah on this land even if it remains for years. Similarly, there is no zakah on it if he builds on it and utilizes it, but if he utilizes it, he has zakah only on its rental income.
The Shaykh : As for the first issue, which is if a person lends money to another, is there zakah in it?
The answer is: If the money he lent is of a type in which zakah is not obligatory on the item itself, then there is no zakah on him for it, such as if he lent him food like wheat, rice, dates, or the like. In this case, there is no zakah on him for it, because there is no zakah on the item itself.
As for if he lent him dirhams, whether they were gold and silver coins or paper money of this practical currency, the borrower is not free from one of two states:
Either he is rich or he is poor. If he is rich, then the lender must pay zakah on the money he lent at the time zakah becomes obligatory on it. If he is poor, then there is no zakah on him even if it remains with him for years. However, if he pays zakah on it when he receives it back for one year, that is more preferable and more cautious, because at that time it resembles the fruit that a person has utilized, which is subject to zakah at the time of its utilization. If he starts a new lunar year with it, there is no harm. Thus, if the loan is in the two currencies (gold and silver) and is given to a rich person, its zakah is obligatory on the lender every year. If it is given to a poor person, its zakah is not obligatory on him, but when he receives it back, he should pay its zakah for one year, and then whenever a lunar year passes over it, he pays zakah on it. This is regarding the first question.
As for the second question, which is the land that he bought to build on it, but he was unable to build on it due to the lack of means to build, there is no zakah in it. This is because real estate that is not considered for sale and purchase, meaning he does not intend to make a profit by selling and buying it, has no zakah in it, because it is from goods (aydan), and goods do not have obligatory zakah unless they are intended for trade. Accordingly, he does not have to pay zakah on this land even if it remains for years. Similarly, there is no zakah on it if he builds on it and utilizes it, but if he utilizes it, he has zakah only on its rental income.