Is zakat obligatory on a plot of land that the wife bought for long-term investment, knowing that she has no income and cannot pay zakat now, and is it true that hoarded land is not subject to zakat until it is sold for one year?
Zakat is obligatory on land designated as a trade commodity. It is to be valued at the end of each lunar year (hawl), and then its zakat is paid annually if liquidity is available. Otherwise, it is valued, the zakat amount is set aside, and it is paid for all accumulated years upon sale. This is the view of the majority of scholars and is the fatwa (ruling) followed. There is another opinion (the Maliki school of thought) which holds that zakat is not obligatory on such land until it is sold, at which point zakat is paid for one year only. The evidence for the obligation of zakat is the hadith: "No zakat is due on wealth until a year passes over it."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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