A person owns a building in which he lives in part and rents out part; is there zakah in it?
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The questioner : A person owns a building and rents out part of it
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : part of it, and lives in the rest. So how is the zakah on what he rents out, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : I took the phrase so as to escape from the error; everyone makes mistakes.
Now, this person has a building in which he lives in part and rents out part; is there zakah in it?
Answer: No, there is no zakah in it, because this building is not merchandise for trade; rather, it is property for development. Therefore, the zakah is on its rent if a lunar year has passed over it. However, if he spends the rent as soon as he receives it on other needs, there is no zakah on him.
So, suppose this man rented out this building for one hundred thousand, received fifty thousand at the time of the contract, and spent it on other needs, such as a car, furnishings, or the like.
And he received the second fifty thousand in the middle of the year and spent it as well. When the lunar year is completed, he has nothing of the rent left. Is there zakah on him?
No, why? Because a lunar year has not passed over it. The rent was something he received and spent immediately; there is no zakah on him for this.
And some scholars said: "Zakah on the rent is obligatory from the time it is received, even if a lunar year has not passed over it", and they placed the rent in the position of fruit. It is known that a lunar year does not pass over the fruit of date palms, so its year is its harvest. He said that this is similar, so its year is its receipt. This is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is more cautious than the opinion that a full year must pass. Yes.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : part of it, and lives in the rest. So how is the zakah on what he rents out, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : I took the phrase so as to escape from the error; everyone makes mistakes.
Now, this person has a building in which he lives in part and rents out part; is there zakah in it?
Answer: No, there is no zakah in it, because this building is not merchandise for trade; rather, it is property for development. Therefore, the zakah is on its rent if a lunar year has passed over it. However, if he spends the rent as soon as he receives it on other needs, there is no zakah on him.
So, suppose this man rented out this building for one hundred thousand, received fifty thousand at the time of the contract, and spent it on other needs, such as a car, furnishings, or the like.
And he received the second fifty thousand in the middle of the year and spent it as well. When the lunar year is completed, he has nothing of the rent left. Is there zakah on him?
No, why? Because a lunar year has not passed over it. The rent was something he received and spent immediately; there is no zakah on him for this.
And some scholars said: "Zakah on the rent is obligatory from the time it is received, even if a lunar year has not passed over it", and they placed the rent in the position of fruit. It is known that a lunar year does not pass over the fruit of date palms, so its year is its harvest. He said that this is similar, so its year is its receipt. This is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is more cautious than the opinion that a full year must pass. Yes.