Is land purchased for the purpose of contributing to an institution and acquiring a share of its capital considered among the trade goods upon which zakat is obligatory?

If the land was purchased with the intention of selling it and contributing its price to the institution, then zakat (definition) is due on it as a trade commodity. One-quarter of one-tenth of its value is to be paid upon the completion of a hawl (lunar year). If it is sold during the hawl, its price is subject to zakat if it is a zakatable asset and a hawl has passed on the original capital.

However, if the intention is to contribute the land itself to the institution, this partnership is not permissible according to many scholars, such as Ibn Sirin, Al-Thawri, and Al-Shafi'i, due to the impermissibility of partnership in commodities. This is because partnership requires returning the capital or its equivalent upon dissolution, and these commodities do not have an equivalent, which could lead to dispute.

Some scholars, however, have permitted partnership in commodities. This is the chosen view of Imam Ahmad in one narration, and the opinion of Malik and others, because the purpose of a partnership is for the two partners to jointly manage their two assets and share in the profits. This is achieved with commodities just as it is with monetary values. Each partner, upon dissolution, receives the value of their asset at the time of the contract. This is the correct view.

If the partnership is permissible, it is stipulated that the land be valued at the time of the contract, and your share should be equivalent to its value. Then, you must pay zakat on your share of the zakatable capital in this partnership at the end of each hawl, and any profits generated from it are to be zakated accordingly.