Zakaat Calculation With A Long Term Loan
Question
My zakaat date is 1 Muharram, I did the calculation and discharged my zakaat.
On 20 Muharram I took a loan of R 2500 000 to take ownership of a house. The repayment terms of the loan is R 10 000 per month. Currently I don’t have any other zakaatable assets or saving besides my monthly salary, i.e. +- R20 000 (meaning that my liabilities are more than my assets) Does my zakaat date still remain as 1st Muharram next year or does this alter my zakaat status. How do I calculate zakaat going forward?
Answer
If a Sahibe-Nisaab’s (the one who possesses the Nisab amount) wealth has lessened during the year, he will still calculate his Zakat on the same date he became a Sahibe-Nisaab. In the enquired case, if your wealth has lessened during the year, you will still calculate your Zakat on 1st Muharram.
In principle, with regard to your specific case, on the 1st Muharram you will total all your Zakatable assets and then deduct the liabilities including the debt instalments of a year (not the entire debt of R2500000), which is 10,000 x 12 = 120,000 in your case. After deducting this amount, if your Zakaatable assets do not reach the amount of Nisaab on the 1st Muharram, you will not be liable to pay Zakaat.
References (Arabic / Urdu sources)
شامى ص ٣٠٣ ج ٢
قدوري مع اللباب ص ٨٤ ط: بشري
- Approved by
- Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
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