Fatwas Worships Zakat المفتي Translated by AI
serial number F-01-0243 how many views 36 date of update 20 - 10 - 2025

Zakat for Someone with Installment Debt

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Question
I am an employee and I have an amount of (5000) dinars, and I took a loan from the bank of (20000) dinars to finance an apartment, which is to be paid in installments over twenty years. Do I owe Zakat?
Answer
I say, and with God's success: You are not obligated to pay zakat; because it is a condition for the obligation of zakat that the accountable Muslim is free of debt. Therefore, zakat is not obligatory on the indebted person as long as their wealth is encumbered by debt; because zakat is obligatory on the wealthy to enrich the poor, and wealth cannot be considered as such when it is borrowed unless it is repaid. There is no difference in this regard between deferred and immediate debt, and God knows best.

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