Q: Ours is a joint family of three married brothers with father and mother. We are running an optical business. We have purchased one more shop with an intention of doing business if the market conditions are favourable or sell it off if we get surplus from the sale of this shop.
Secondly, we have sold our house some six months back and the funds raised after selling the same are deposited in our account. Are we liable to pay zakat for the same although only six months have passed?
I wanted to ask whether we are liable to pay zakat for our shop and are we also liable to pay zakat on the funds raised from the sale of our old residence?
A: If the money in your account has been there from the start of the Islamic year and the money received from the sale of your old residence was added to the account, then Zakaat will be payable on all that money when 12 Islamic months have passed. So even if you had the money of the house for only 6 months. Zakaat must still be paid on that cash when the Islamic year ends.
As regards the business, well, if you carry stock then zakaat must be paid on the value of the stock after one Islamic year. You say you have an optical business, so you might also be selling spectacles, frames, sunglasses, etc. So this becomes your stock. There is no Zakaat on your equipment, machines, instruments, etc.
And Allah knows best.
Mufti Siraj Desai