Is Zakat Due on a Car Initially Meant for Resale but Later Used Personally?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is zakat due on a car bought on credit if I may have intended to resell it, but used it for three years before selling it back to the dealer? If so, has zakat been due in the previous years?
If I buy another car for personal use and later decide to sell it, but never do, is zakat due? If I sell it later, is zakat owed for the years I intended to resell it?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Zakat is only required on goods that are actively acquired for trade. If you purchased a car intending to resell it but ended up using it for three years, it was a personal asset during that time. Since personal assets, like vehicles used for transportation, are not subject to zakat, no zakat is due for the three years you used the car. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
