Should I Pay Zakat on a Land?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Assalam alaykum
After my marriage, my parents gifted me some land. We will be selling the land in the future.
Should I be paying Zakat on this land?
When should I pay Zakat?
Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,
1. There is no zakat due on personal possessions, whether houses, land or otherwise. But zakat is due on cash, gold and silver, trade assets, and investments.
2. You should pay on your zakat due date, and not one year after taking possession. This is because what counts is whether or not you have the zakatable minimum (nisab) on the due date, regardless of what wealth comes and goes during the course of the year.
[Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah with Tahtawi’s Gloss (2.392); Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab (150)]
Please also see: Zakat: How to Calculate & Whom to Give and: Is Your Zakat Due? – A Reader and Resources on Giving Zakat
And Allah Most High alone knows best.
wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.
