Is zakat obligatory on money paid to a real estate company to purchase land and build an apartment building, in which one will own an apartment and a share of the commercial shops, knowing that this money has reached the nisab and a Hijri year will soon pass over it? And is this considered business wealth?

The aforementioned transaction is not permissible Islamically due to the presence of Jahala (ambiguity/ignorance) and Gharar (definition) (uncertainty/risk). Zakat (definition) is obligatory upon the questioner for this money, as it has not legally left his possession. He must strive to recover it. However, he is not obligated to pay Zakat on it until he takes possession of it. Once he takes possession of it, he must pay Zakat for the past years. The majority of scholars have stipulated the obligation of mutual restitution in an invalid contract, and that the money does not exit the ownership of its owner if the contract is ruled invalid. If the questioner is unable to recover the money, then its ruling is similar to that of usurped property. The more correct opinion is that he pays Zakat on it when he takes possession of it, for the past years.