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Date: Monday , July 02, 2012 |
Question
I have been struggling to find the answer for a question on zakah which has been bothering since long. Simply put my question concerns that long term commercial loan that a businessman takes to run or expand his business activity.
While deducting his liabilities from the total zaktable assets, how much should he deduct against his commercial loan? The entire loan? (That he is supposed to pay back in say ten years) or the part of the loan that he pays back to the bank monthly?
Some brothers’ told me that the entire loan amount can be deducted from the total zakatable assets. While others advise me to deduct the entire one year’s instalments of debt payments. While still the others advice that I have to deduct only one month instalment in which I will be paying my Zakat. Out of these three opinions which one is correct?
Answer
In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāh wa-barakātuh.
The instalments of only one year of the entire loan will be deducted from being Zakatable. The entire debt will not be considered.
And Allah knows best
Darul Iftaa
Madrasah Inaa’miyya
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