Fatwa ID: 08479
Written by Alimah Maryam Badshah
Question:
I make digital art and upload it online on a print on demand platform. The platform does the rest of the work like advertising, it has contracts with third party printers for the manufacture of the final product, it has contracts with shipping companies who pick up the product from the third party printer and deliver it to the customer.
The platform handles the processing of payments and also handles customer service.
I only get commissions if some product is ordered with my art on it.
I have all of my digtal artworks with me and I wanted to know, since I am not selling the digital art directly, are the artworks considered as Zakatable assets?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
After reaching the nisab threshold, a person is required to give zakah on 2.5% of their zakatable assets at the end of each year. For a business, zakat is applied to currency & resale items such as inventory and trade merchandise (including raw materials & unsold merchandise). Zakat is not due on what constitutes “tools of the trade”, such as equipment and items which are not for resale.
Your digital artworks are like the inking plates of a printing press and are not for resale. Therefore you would not need to pay zakat on your personal files, but you will need to give zakat on the profits gained in the sale of the printed/duplicated versions.
References:
(الْبَابُ الثَّالِثُ فِي زَكَاةِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَالْعُرُوضِ) ، وَفِيهِ فَصْلَانِ (الْفَصْلُ الْأَوَّلُ فِي زَكَاةِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ)
تَجِبُ فِي كُلِّ مِائَتَيْ دِرْهَمٍ خَمْسَةُ دَرَاهِمَ، وَفِي كُلِّ عِشْرِينَ مِثْقَالِ ذَهَبٍ نِصْفُ مِثْقَالٍ مَضْرُوبًا كَانَ أَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مَصُوغًا أَوْ غَيْرَ مَصُوغٍ حُلِيًّا كَانَ لِلرِّجَالِ أَوْ لِلنِّسَاءِ تِبْرًا كَانَ أَوْ سَبِيكَةً…
وَأَمَّا الْفُلُوسُ فَلَا زَكَاةَ فِيهَا إذَا لَمْ تَكُنْ لِلتِّجَارَةِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لِلتِّجَارَةِ فَإِنْ بَلَغَتْ مِائَتَيْنِ وَجَبَتْ الزَّكَاةُ… وَتُضَمُّ قِيمَةَ الْعُرُوضِ إلَى الثَّمَنَيْنِ وَالذَّهَبُ إلَى الْفِضَّةِ قِيمَةً كَذَا فِي الْكَنْزِ…
[الْفَصْلُ الثَّانِي فِي الْعُرُوض]
الزَّكَاةُ وَاجِبَةٌ فِي عُرُوضِ التِّجَارَةِ كَائِنَةً مَا كَانَتْ إذَا بَلَغَتْ قِيمَتُهَا نِصَابًا مِنْ الْوَرِقِ وَالذَّهَبِ كَذَا فِي الْهِدَايَةِ. وَيُقَوَّمُ بِالْمَضْرُوبَةِ…
وَالْخَبَّازُ إذَا اشْتَرَى حَطَبًا أَوْ مِلْحًا لِأَجْلِ الْخُبْزِ فَلَا زَكَاةَ فِيهِ، وَإِذَا اشْتَرَى سِمْسِمًا يُجْعَلُ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْخُبْزِ فَفِيهِ الزَّكَاةُ…
Al-Fatāwa al-Hindiyyah (Vol.1, pg.178-80, Dār Al-Fiqr)
(وتضم قيمة العروض) التي للتجارة (إلى الذهب والفضة) للمجانسة من حيث الثمينة، لأن القيمة من جنس الدراهم والدنانير (وكذلك يضم الذهب إلى الفضة) لجامع الثمينة (بالقيمة؛ حتى يتم النصاب عند أبي حنيفة)…
Al-Lubāb Fi Sharh al-Kitāb (Vol.1, pg.149, Al-Maktaba Al-’Ilmiyyah)
Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.
Written by Alimah Maryam Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
