Fatwa ID: 06784

Answered by: Muftiyah Habiba Akhtar

Question:

A person has a mortgage debt on a house or a car. Does he subtract only the current month’s mortgage or 1 full year? 

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

Answer:

A mortgage usually spans approximately 25 years. A person commits to pay this off as a long-term financial commitment. Hence, a mortgage will be considered a long-term loan/debt.

Long-term loans don’t prevent the obligation and Nisaab to pay Zakat whereas short-term loans which are usually payable within the year impact the Zakat liability. (1)

Thus, someone paying a mortgage will not be exempt from the year’s financial Zakat calculation and will be liable to pay Zakat if he reaches the nisab. However, you will be allowed to exclude that year’s mortgage instalments from your savings as they will be considered short-term debts.

Only Allah knows the best

Written by Muftiyah Habiba Akhtar

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

(1)

قوله أو مؤجلا إلخ) عزاه في المعراج إلى شرح الطحاوي، وقال: وعن أبي حنيفة لا يمنع. وقال الصدر الشهيد: لا رواية فيه، ولكل من المنع وعدمه وجه. زاد القهستاني عن الجواهر: والصحيح أنه غير مانع

Raddul Mukhtar, Volume 3, page 177, Darul Kutub ilmiyyah