Explanation of the author's statement: "If he acquired it through inheritance or through his own action without the intention of trade, and then he intended it for trade, it does not become trade goods for him."

The Shaykh :"If he acquired it through inheritance or through his own action without the intention of trade, and then he intended it for trade, it does not become trade goods for him". "If he acquired it" means trade goods through inheritance, such as if his deceased relative left behind real estate or merchandise like fabrics, vessels, cars, or other items, and this heir intended them for trade, keeping them for profit, they do not become trade goods. Why? Because he acquired them without his own action, as acquisition through inheritance is compulsory and enters a person's ownership against his will. Therefore, if one of the heirs says, "I am rich and I do not want my inheritance from so-and-so," we tell him, "Your inheritance is established whether you want it or not, and you cannot separate yourself from it. However, if you wish to relinquish it to one of the heirs or to others, that is up to you after we have stated that it has entered your ownership. So if you wish, relinquish it, and if you wish, keep it. But if he wants to say, 'I do not want the inheritance,' we say, 'No, you want it against your will, because it enters his ownership compulsorily by Allah making it his' . All right.
So, if a person acquires trade goods through inheritance and intends them for trade from the moment he acquires them, what happens? They do not become trade goods. All right. And if a person gives him a car, he accepts it, and intends it for trade, does it become trade goods?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, because he acquired it through his own action by his choice. Or if he acquired it through his own action without the intention of trade and then intended it for trade, it does not become trade goods for him, meaning it does not become trade goods. All right. If he sold it after inheriting it, then bought another one with the intention of trade, the second one becomes trade goods because he acquired it through his own action with the intention of trade. All right. If a person has real estate he does not want to trade in, but he intends that if he were offered a high price for it, he would sell it, then this is not for trade. This is not for trade because he did not intend it for trade. However, the general rule is that if a person is offered a high price for what he has, he will likely sell it, and he might even sell his house or his car or the like.
And the author's statement, may Allah have mercy on him, "he acquired it with the intention of trade", which he followed, and that if he intends trade after acquiring it, it does not become trade goods, is the school's position. The second opinion in this issue is that it becomes trade goods by intention, even if he acquired it without his own action, or if he acquired it without the intention of trade; if he intends it for trade, it becomes trade goods, due to the generality of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) statement . So regarding his statement , we say this is a man who intended trade, so let it be trade goods for him, even if he acquired it without his own action, or if he acquired it through his own action without the intention of trade and then intended it, such as if he bought this car to use it for riding, then he decided to make it capital to trade with. In this case, zakah is obligatory on him when the lunar year completes from his intention. All right. If he has a car he uses, then he is pleased to part with it and wants to sell it and offers it for sale, does it become trade goods? No, because his selling it here is not for trade, but because of his desire to get rid of it. Similarly, if he has land he bought for building, intending to build on it, then he decides to sell it and buy another, and offers it for sale, it does not become trade goods. This is because the intention to sell here is not for profit, but because of his desire to get rid of it. There is a difference between a person who makes it capital to start his trade and a person who turned away from that thing, desired to get rid of it, and wanted to sell it. In the first case, there is zakah according to the stronger opinion, and in the second case, there is no zakah. However, according to what the author, may Allah have mercy on him, followed, there is no zakah on him in both cases, because the author requires what? That the intention of trade coincides with the acquisition; he acquires it with the intention of trade. Yes.