Az-Zakah on Shares

Az-Zakah on Shares that are in real-estate Properties

Question :

Certainly you all know that people are dealing with shares in real-estate properties and among them there are those who freeze sums of money in them that increase and decrease. Sometimes this money will remain for a long period of time, maybe even four or five years, more or less. Then, if the owner wants to sell on the market, he allows the property to be auctioned. The value of the property may be the same as when he bought it or it may be less. Thus, he continues in this manner for a number of years. Likewise, he also may have some wealth invested in lands that he seeks the market price to go up on so that he can sell them, and so forth. The question is: Does the person have to pay yearly Zakah on shares that are invested in properties that remain unsold until now, and that have remained for a long time with the same value or lower value on the market? Is there a yearly Zakah on lands that the owner purchased in order to earn some profit, like the Zakah on merchandise for sale? Or do the lands remain until he sells them and then he pays the Zakah on them as some of the scholars see it? Because it may be that many years pass and the land has remained at the same value without any increase. If it is said that Zakah must be paid on it, should its Zakah be paid every year or just once? If the owner sells the property, does he pay its Zakah for the previous years or only one year? This is while keeping in mind that the individual may have much wealth in the properties and shares, and when he wants to give Zakah he borrows money or sells some of it (to pay the Zakah on it). This means that the money does not stop with him. Rather, something is simply kept with him that he uses to buy, but it does not remain with him in his possession.

Answer:

The shares that are mentioned in the question are sales items and Az-Zakah must be paid on them. This is to be done every year according to the value of the property and not in consideration of the sales price. If he has some money, the owner can pay the Zakah from that. If not, he can pay its Zakah for all the previous years - based on the value at the time the Zakah was due each year - after he sells it and receives its price. This is also the situation with the properties that are kept for business (buying and selling) and are not in shares.

Source:
The Permanent Committee
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 3 Pages 174-175