Is Advance received from tenants is to be treated as debt which is to be returned when they leave the property?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Is Advance received from tenants is to be treated as debt
which is to be returned when they leave the property? If so while calculating
zakath on our income or savings which remained for one year do we need to
deduct the above amount? Pls answer.
Allah Hafiz
(There may
be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does
not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Advance rent zakah
determination
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
If the total net worth of any believer (man, woman, or
child) is more than the prescribed ‘nisaab’ of 7.5 ‘tolas’ of gold (app. 85
grams or app. Value US$2,100.00), then the person is liable to pay the
obligatory annual ‘zakah’ of 2.5% on their excess wealth which has been in
their possession for a full calendar year.
If the total net worth of any believer is less than the
prescribed ‘nisaab’, he/she is not liable to pay any ‘zakah’ until their net
worth exceeds the prescribed ‘nisaab’.
For the purpose of determining ‘zakah’, the ‘Net Excess
Assets’ would be the current market value of all of one’s assets (properties,
investments, jewelry, cash, etc.) except:
- the
value of the house one owns and actually lives in
- the
value of the car/vehicle one uses on a regular basis
- the
value of the furniture and fixtures one uses on a regular basis.
Your Question: Is Advance received from tenants is to be
treated as debt which is to be returned when they leave the property?
Firstly, the annual ‘zakah’ is not determined from the
annual income or rent of the premises; but rather the owner of the premises
will be liable to pay his zakah on the market value of the property.
Secondly, it all depends what exactly is meant by ‘advance
received’…..if it is merely a deposit which has to be returned back to the
tenant when they vacate the premises, then the tenant will be considered the
inherent owner of that wealth and it is they who would be liable to pay its
zakah.
But if by ‘advance received’ you mean to imply that it is
the rent of the premises owned by you which the tenant has paid in
advance….then indeed you would be the owner of this wealth, and if that wealth
has been in your possession for a period of one year, you indeed would be
liable to pay its zakah.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister