I am a student, and my student loans will be due 13 months from my Zakat date. I will be paying my loans back in full to avoid interest. If I deduced my total loans ($10,000) from my total wealth ($12,000) I am below the gold threshold. Do I pay Zakat?

Furthermore, In October 2021, I will be applying to a Master’s program and if I am admitted my student loans can be deferred for one more year. I believe if that happened then I should pay Zakat now since my repayment is 25 months away, but I will not know if I am accepted until February 2022. What should I do?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer

In both cases the amount will be in your possession for an entire year, thus it will be zakatable.¹ This is because the loans are not due within 12 Islamic months. If you pay off the loan before the completion of 12 Islamic months you will not have to pay zakat.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Shaykh Ahmed Bin Mohamed Umarji

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

1 Nurul Idhaah, Page 168, Zam Zam Publishers , Fatawa Darul uloom Zakariyya , Volume 3 , Page 111, Addur Al-Mukhtar Page 126 Darul Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah [ (وسببه) أي سبب افتراضها (ملك نصاب حولي) نسبه للحول لحولانه عليه (تام) ] ,Radd Al-Muhtar , Volume 2, Page 261, Darul Fikr Beirut [فِي المِعْراجِ فِي فَصْلِ زَكاةِ العُرُوضِ أنَّ الزَّكاةَ تَجِبُ فِي النَّقْدِ كَيْفَما أمْسَكَهُ لِلنَّماءِ أوْ لِلنَّفَقَةِ ]