Zakat Must Be Paid on Tradeable Items
Fatwa No: 473494

Question

Assalamu Alaikum.I have a cloth shop, which capital is above nisab. The profit and the family expense are equal to zero at the end of the year. My question is what will be my Zakat?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Zakat is obligatory on the money used for trading every year if it reaches the Nisab and a whole lunar year has elapsed on it, even if this money did not yield any profits. Therefore, the one who owns a store must look at the value of the goods at the time when Zakat is due on them, which is when a whole lunar year elapses on them, and pay Zakat on the value they reach.

Ibn Al-Mundhir said: “The scholars unanimously agreed that Zakat is due on goods intended for trade if one lunar year has elapsed on them.

Ibn Qudamah said in al-Mughni: “Whoever owns merchandise, and a lunar year has passed on it, and it reached the Nisab, should evaluate it at the end of the lunar year, and whatever has reached the Nisab of it, he should pay Zakat on it, which is 2.5 % of its value.

Allah knows best.

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