Question Summary:
1. Will a person be discharged from his obligation of zakāh if he gives something other than cash? 2. Is it permissible to charge the debtor the lost value of the current currency against another currency?

Question Detail:

I wanted to find out if it is permissible to give out new or old but unused clothing items and items like carpets that we sell in our store? If yes, then how would I calculate the zakāh of the items as we have had them in stock for the last couple of years? Do we take the old or new costs of these items? Does price fluctuation matter when calculation zakāh?

Also, I wanted to find if the local currency loses its value against the foreign currency it has been pegged with i.e. Zar loses 20% of its value to the US Dollar, can we charge our debtors the above percentage to the outstanding amount owed to us? What if their account is very long overdue i.e. 5-7 years? How do we recover the losses?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

It is permissible to give items other than cash for zakāh such as clothing and carpets. The cost and value of these items will be determined according to the current market value.[1]
Regarding your second question, you are only eligible to receive the amount of money and currency which was stipulated at the time of the transaction. For e.g. if 100,000 Zars were fixed at the time of the transaction, you are only entitled to receive 100,000 Zars. It is not permissible for you to demand more than this amount. Also, since the currency of Zars was fixed, you can only demand for Zars and not any other currency. In case the Zars lose its value against Dollars, you cannot demand more than 100,000 Zars since this will be considered as usury (Riba).[2]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mawlana Abdul Hannan Nizami,
Student Darul Iftaa
USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net