Question Summary:
Can I delay discharging zakat of my land which I intend selling?

Question Detail:

I purchased a piece of land 10 years back with intention to sell.Every year I use to take out Zakaat on that piece of land along with other properties. Since there is no development around that piece of land and i am not expecting any returns in future, from this year i stopped taking out zakaat on that piece of land.I made intention that in future if the land gets sold, I will calculate number of years of zakaat remaining and take out zakaat, Is that acceptable or i will be sinful for delaying in taking out zakaat for that piece of land.?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

As-salaamu `alaykum wa-ramatullahi wa-barakatuh.

Your practise is correct. You may take out zakat every year on the land or when you sell, you pay zakat of the previous years. If you decide to delay on paying the zakat on the land, you should record that in your will in case of death[1]. 

Alternatively, you may rescind your intention to sell the land and put the land into some personal use such as agriculture or farming and benefit from its proceeds. In that case, you do not have to pay zakat on the land.

And Allah Ta`ala Knows Best.

Hussein Muhammad.

Student Darul Iftaa

Arusha, Tanzania

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

________

[1]

شرح مختصر الطحاوي للجصاص (2/ 336)

وفي عروض التجارة الزكاة

مختصر القدوري (ص: 57)

الزكاة واجبة في عروض التجارة كائنة ما كانت إذا بلغت قميتها نصابا من الذهب أو الورق يقومها بما هو أنفع للفقراء والمساكين منهما

المبسوط للسرخسي (2/ 190)

وكذلك زكاة مال التجارة تجب بالقيمة والكلام فيه في فصول (أحدها) أن الزكاة تجب في عروض التجارة إذا حال الحول عندنا