Question Summary:
If you extend credit when you sell merchandise, is your whole debtors book zakatable? Question Detail:
If you extend credit when you sell merchandise, is your whole debtors book zakatable? Obviously theres a chance of default from certain debtors. Whats the shariah rulling on this?
Answer :
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Zakat becomes compulsory(fardh) according to one’s financial condition. If one has the nisāb amount of zakatable assets after deducting the liabilities then zakat is compulsory.
Debts receivables are treated as one’s potential wealth and regarded as a strong debt as one is certain of receiving payment of such a debt.
Zakat on strong debts is governed by the following laws:
At the time of calculating zakat if the debt is not received then zakat is not obligatory on that debt.
Once the payment of the debts is one-fifth or more of the nisāb then zakat becomes due on that amount received. The zakat will be calculated for the present year as well as the previous years.
If someone receives the complete debt in a lump sum, then zakat will be paid on the whole amount for that year and the previous years. [1]
It is permissible to discharge zakat on debt receivables before the zakat becomes due on it. In essence, if one pays 2.5% on the debt receivable every year before receiving payments, then one would not have to pay zakat for the past years upon receiving payments.
If the credit extended becomes a bad debt (i.e there is no hope of receiving it) then there is no zakat wajib on such debt.[2]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal bin Abdul Hameed
Canada
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net
[1] الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (2/ 306)
وَأَمَّا إذَا كَانَتْ الْأَلْفُ مِنْ دَيْنٍ قَوِيٍّ كَبَدَلِ عُرُوضِ تِجَارَةٍ، فَإِنَّ ابْتِدَاءَ الْحَوْلِ هُوَ حَوْلُ الْأَصْلِ لَا مِنْ حِينِ الْبَيْعِ وَلَا مِنْ حِينِ الْقَبْضِ، فَإِذَا قَبَضَ مِنْهُ نِصَابًا أَوْ أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَمًا زَكَّاهُ عَمَّا مَضَى بَانِيًا عَلَى حَوْلِ الْأَصْلِ
بدائع الصنائع في ترتيب الشرائع (2/ 10)
وَجُمْلَةُ الْكَلَامِ فِي الدُّيُونِ أَنَّهَا عَلَى ثَلَاثِ مَرَاتِبَ فِي قَوْلِ أَبِي حَنِيفَةِ: دَيْنٌ قَوِيٌّ، وَدَيْنٌ ضَعِيفٌ، وَدَيْنٌ وَسَطٌ كَذَا قَالَ عَامَّةُ مَشَايِخِنَا أَمَّا الْقَوِيُّ فَهُوَ الَّذِي وَجَبَ بَدَلًا عَنْ مَالِ التِّجَارَةِ كَثَمَنِ عَرَضِ التِّجَارَةِ مِنْ ثِيَابِ التِّجَارَةِ، وَعَبِيدِ التِّجَارَةِ، أَوْ غَلَّةِ مَالِ التِّجَارَةِ وَلَا خِلَافَ فِي وُجُوبِ الزَّكَاةِ فِيهِ إلَّا أَنَّهُ لَا يُخَاطَبُ بِأَدَاءِ شَيْءٍ مِنْ زَكَاةِ مَا مَضَى مَا لَمْ يَقْبِضْ أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَمًا، فَكُلَّمَا قَبَضَ أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَمًا أَدَّى دِرْهَمًا وَاحِدًا.
وَعِنْدَ أَبِي يُوسُفَ وَمُحَمَّدٍ كُلَّمَا قَبَضَ شَيْئًا يُؤَدِّي زَكَاتَهُ قَلَّ الْمَقْبُوضُ أَوْ كَثُرَ.
فتاوى محمودية ج 14 ص98 – مكتبة محمودية
[2] احسن الفتاوى ج 4 ص 275 – ايج ايم سعيد
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