Is Zakat Obligatory on Money That Is Lent Out?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is zakat due on money that I lent out? If I let someone borrow a certain amount, do I have to pay zakat on that?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Yes. Zakat is due on those zakatable assets that one has possession of for one lunar year from when the minimum zakatable amount (nisab) was reached. Money lent out to other people is still considered yours; therefore, you must include that when calculating your zakat. [Maydani, Al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.