A word by Shaykh “Nasser al-‘Umar” regarding trade goods.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
I say: I listened to what you discussed, may Allah bless you and those who listen. Truly, when I read in the books of the scholars and find them establishing the zakah of trade goods, there were things in my mind for which I did not find an answer. For example, we find a man who has a building that he rents out; let us say its value is ten million, and he rents it out for one million riyals. Some scholars say that he pays zakah on this one million from the rent, while others say that when a lunar year passes over this rent, he pays zakah on the one million, which is twenty-five thousand riyals. Meanwhile, we find another man who is also engaged in trade goods, and his capital is ten million, but he does not make a profit; he may even lose a million. We find those who speak on trade goods saying that he must pay zakah of approximately two hundred and forty thousand or close to that. This matter was in my mind: is the zakah of trade goods on all the trade? Even though we find that in agriculture it is only on the produce of the land, and we find it, as I said, in the case of the one who rents out, according to those who hold that view, on the rent and what he benefits from it when the year passes, and others who have other things. So this was a matter for which I did not find an answer, or for which there is an answer. The difference you mentioned between hoarded wealth and trade goods is truly clear, because this is to encourage the merchant to move his wealth, and it is in reality a benefit for the poor and the rich and others, and this is a matter that is not denied and is observed.
So you referred to another issue, which is the matter of considering the state of the poor and the state of the rich. I was writing about this issue two days ago while I was establishing the methodology of moderation. I said: I stood before His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:89], and I said: Moderation, as I understand it, is the summary of what I have reached, which is that moderation cannot be called moderation unless it includes the meaning of excellence and the meaning of being in between.
The Shaykh: The meaning of excellence and the meaning of?
The questioner: And being in between; that it be a matter between two matters.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: And it is better. And I gave an example of that:[Al-Ma'idah 5:89]. A person may come and say: You feed the best types, this is the best, so that is moderation. I say to him: No. I say that the best good is actually to feed the middle between the two matters, because it considers the state of the rich and the state of the poor.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: If we said to the rich: Feed the best you have, we would consider the state of the poor without the rich. And if we said: Feed whatever you wish without restriction, he would feed what harms the poor. The Shari'ah came to consider the state of both, the state of the poor and the state of the rich. And in the end, it also has a preference and far-reaching implications so that he exits with a good soul and is convinced. So you referred to this issue, and it also found acceptance in my mind, may Allah bless you; considering the state of both parties, the rich and also the poor in this issue.
So I say: May Allah reward you with good. This issue, which is the issue of trade goods, as you know, is the speech of the scholars on it. I feel from what you discussed that the issue, I say in what I listened to, is still very important; its research is very important, and the discussion of it, and clarifying this issue in a broader way. And once again, I hope you do not get upset or angry with me when I say: How I wish it were dedicated to a thesis for its importance. And I do not see that it is less than the other theses that you have dedicated, and they are very many, praise be to Allah; because it is a general issue, and the opinions and evidence are clarified in it, and it ends with the correct opinion that reaches... in it. So may Allah bless you and reward you with good.
The Shaykh: And you, may Allah reward you with good for your good opinion of your brother, first of all.
The questioner: Of my Shaykhs.
The Shaykh: May Allah bless you; I am your brother, and it is sufficient for us as a favor that we are brothers... the meaning of Islam!
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh: And advising one another in the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Then I thank you for your useful scientific suggestions for the Muslim community. I have benefited from you despite your short stay with me, and this is my bad luck. I benefited from you with two suggestions; so what would your suggestions be if I had many days with you?! And then I would say to you: With which suggestions do I start?
The questioner: My suggestions are all easy and facilitated.
The Shaykh: [The Shaykh laughs!] Is that what you think!
The questioner: That is why I told you, O Shaykh: The first thing is that I should not prolong my stay with you, every hour with a suggestion.
The Shaykh: No, this is a danger; because this is not from cooperation.
Please; what do you have?
I say: I listened to what you discussed, may Allah bless you and those who listen. Truly, when I read in the books of the scholars and find them establishing the zakah of trade goods, there were things in my mind for which I did not find an answer. For example, we find a man who has a building that he rents out; let us say its value is ten million, and he rents it out for one million riyals. Some scholars say that he pays zakah on this one million from the rent, while others say that when a lunar year passes over this rent, he pays zakah on the one million, which is twenty-five thousand riyals. Meanwhile, we find another man who is also engaged in trade goods, and his capital is ten million, but he does not make a profit; he may even lose a million. We find those who speak on trade goods saying that he must pay zakah of approximately two hundred and forty thousand or close to that. This matter was in my mind: is the zakah of trade goods on all the trade? Even though we find that in agriculture it is only on the produce of the land, and we find it, as I said, in the case of the one who rents out, according to those who hold that view, on the rent and what he benefits from it when the year passes, and others who have other things. So this was a matter for which I did not find an answer, or for which there is an answer. The difference you mentioned between hoarded wealth and trade goods is truly clear, because this is to encourage the merchant to move his wealth, and it is in reality a benefit for the poor and the rich and others, and this is a matter that is not denied and is observed.
So you referred to another issue, which is the matter of considering the state of the poor and the state of the rich. I was writing about this issue two days ago while I was establishing the methodology of moderation. I said: I stood before His saying, the Exalted:
from the average of that which you feed your [own] families
مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْThe Shaykh: The meaning of excellence and the meaning of?
The questioner: And being in between; that it be a matter between two matters.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: And it is better. And I gave an example of that:
from the average of that which you feed your [own] families
مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْThe Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: If we said to the rich: Feed the best you have, we would consider the state of the poor without the rich. And if we said: Feed whatever you wish without restriction, he would feed what harms the poor. The Shari'ah came to consider the state of both, the state of the poor and the state of the rich. And in the end, it also has a preference and far-reaching implications so that he exits with a good soul and is convinced. So you referred to this issue, and it also found acceptance in my mind, may Allah bless you; considering the state of both parties, the rich and also the poor in this issue.
So I say: May Allah reward you with good. This issue, which is the issue of trade goods, as you know, is the speech of the scholars on it. I feel from what you discussed that the issue, I say in what I listened to, is still very important; its research is very important, and the discussion of it, and clarifying this issue in a broader way. And once again, I hope you do not get upset or angry with me when I say: How I wish it were dedicated to a thesis for its importance. And I do not see that it is less than the other theses that you have dedicated, and they are very many, praise be to Allah; because it is a general issue, and the opinions and evidence are clarified in it, and it ends with the correct opinion that reaches... in it. So may Allah bless you and reward you with good.
The Shaykh: And you, may Allah reward you with good for your good opinion of your brother, first of all.
The questioner: Of my Shaykhs.
The Shaykh: May Allah bless you; I am your brother, and it is sufficient for us as a favor that we are brothers... the meaning of Islam!
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh: And advising one another in the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Then I thank you for your useful scientific suggestions for the Muslim community. I have benefited from you despite your short stay with me, and this is my bad luck. I benefited from you with two suggestions; so what would your suggestions be if I had many days with you?! And then I would say to you: With which suggestions do I start?
The questioner: My suggestions are all easy and facilitated.
The Shaykh: [The Shaykh laughs!] Is that what you think!
The questioner: That is why I told you, O Shaykh: The first thing is that I should not prolong my stay with you, every hour with a suggestion.
The Shaykh: No, this is a danger; because this is not from cooperation.
Please; what do you have?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.