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Is it permissible to delay the zakat on land designated for trade that has been held for a full year, if its owner is in debt and his monthly salary and apartment rent are consumed?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Zakat is obligatory on land prepared for sale and trade at the end of each year (hawl), if its value reaches the nisab either by itself or when combined with cash or trade goods. It is not permissible to delay its zakat unless one is unable to pay due to lacking money other than the land.

So, whoever has surplus money beyond their expenses and the expenses of those they are obligated to support, must pay zakat from it. Otherwise, they are excused for delaying the zakat until they sell the land and pay its zakat for all the years.

The hawl (one-year period) for the land is the hawl for the money with which it was purchased, because it is a trade good, and the hawl for trade goods is the hawl for their prices.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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