Commercial Goods.
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The Shaykh : As for commercial goods, they are all things a person prepares for trade and profit, in which he buys and sells, such as furniture, vessels, jewelry, lands, real estate, livestock, cars, equipment, and so on. What is the criterion here?
Anything a person prepares for trade, of any type of wealth. Trade means he deals in it, buying and selling in it.
And if a person has items he prepared for his own need, such as cars he rides in, machines he uses for irrigation, and plows he uses to plow his land, there is no zakah on them, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 982a.
Likewise, if he has items of this kind that he rents out, there is no zakah on them, but the zakah is on their rental income, not on the items themselves. For example, if a person has several buildings and structures worth millions, and he wants to sell them but does not want to sell them, rather he wants to utilize them for rent, then there is no zakah on them, but the zakah is on the rent.
Likewise, if a person has plows that he rents out, there is no zakah on them, but the zakah is on their rental income. If he has transport vehicles that he uses to carry loads, there is no zakah on them, but the zakah is on their rental income.
Now, if a man buys land to build on it, is there zakah on it?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : If he buys land to build on it, there is no zakah on it, because he did not buy it for trade, meaning he did not buy it to sell it tomorrow for a profit. Rather, he bought it to keep it and build on it, so there is no zakah on it. Now, if he loses interest in building on it and wants to sell it, is there zakah on it?
The student: There is no zakah on it.
The Shaykh : No, there is no zakah on it, even if several years pass, because this man did not intend to trade with it; rather, he was fed up with it and wanted what?
The student: To sell it.
The Shaykh : To sell it. Likewise, if he is given land and wants to sell it, there is no zakah on it, because he did not intend to trade with it. So, anything he does not intend to trade with, from that which zakah is not obligatory on its substance, has no zakah on it.
Anything a person prepares for trade, of any type of wealth. Trade means he deals in it, buying and selling in it.
And if a person has items he prepared for his own need, such as cars he rides in, machines he uses for irrigation, and plows he uses to plow his land, there is no zakah on them, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
No Sadaqa is due from a Muslim on his slave or horse.
ليس على مسلم في عبده ولا فرسه صدقةLikewise, if he has items of this kind that he rents out, there is no zakah on them, but the zakah is on their rental income, not on the items themselves. For example, if a person has several buildings and structures worth millions, and he wants to sell them but does not want to sell them, rather he wants to utilize them for rent, then there is no zakah on them, but the zakah is on the rent.
Likewise, if a person has plows that he rents out, there is no zakah on them, but the zakah is on their rental income. If he has transport vehicles that he uses to carry loads, there is no zakah on them, but the zakah is on their rental income.
Now, if a man buys land to build on it, is there zakah on it?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : If he buys land to build on it, there is no zakah on it, because he did not buy it for trade, meaning he did not buy it to sell it tomorrow for a profit. Rather, he bought it to keep it and build on it, so there is no zakah on it. Now, if he loses interest in building on it and wants to sell it, is there zakah on it?
The student: There is no zakah on it.
The Shaykh : No, there is no zakah on it, even if several years pass, because this man did not intend to trade with it; rather, he was fed up with it and wanted what?
The student: To sell it.
The Shaykh : To sell it. Likewise, if he is given land and wants to sell it, there is no zakah on it, because he did not intend to trade with it. So, anything he does not intend to trade with, from that which zakah is not obligatory on its substance, has no zakah on it.