Fatwa ID: 06624
Answered by: Shaykh Shafiur Rahman
Question:
If someone has a car lease (a car on finance). For E.g a car is £10,000.
They pay a monthly sum for a fixed amount of years, e.g. £100 a month for 3 years. At the end of the 3 years, there’re will be says £5,000 left to pay. But they have to choose to give the car back or pay the remainder in cash. I.e no obligation to buy the car.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Scholars agree that in general, established debts, whether long-term or short term prevent zakat (i.e., the amount due is not zakatable) as it is considered a basic necessity to pay off a debt.1 There is a difference of opinion on how the ruling is implemented and to which extent the debt prevents zakat depending on the status of the debt.
For the purposes of zakat calculation in this case, he may deduct the total amount of payments due for the coming lunar year from his zakatable assets on the day his zakat is due. He may instead simply deduct the next month’s payment too as that is the immediate debt especially if he has a guaranteed income source over the coming months.
In the final year of payments, it would not make any difference to the above calculations as he is under no obligation to pay the remaining £5,000 unless he decides to keep the car. If he decides right at the end to keep the car and pay it at the end that would not count as debt as it would be treated as an immediate payment for the purchase of a good. However, if he is firmly decided by the time of the zakat due date that he will keep the car and pay the final £5000 he may deduct this amount from zakatable assets if the final payment is due within the next lunar year.
Only Allah knows the best
Written by Shaykh Shafiur Rahman
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 (قَوْلُهُ فَارِغٍ عَنْ دَيْنٍ) بِالْجَرِّ صِفَةٌ نِصَابٍ، وَأَطْلَقَهُ فَشَمِلَ الدَّيْنَ الْعَارِضَ كَمَا يَذْكُرُهُ الشَّارِحُ وَيَأْتِي بَيَانُهُ، وَهَذَا إذَا كَانَ الدَّيْنُ فِي ذِمَّتِهِ قَبْلَ وُجُوبِ الزَّكَاةِ، فَلَوْ لَحِقَهُ بَعْدَهُ لَمْ تَسْقُطْ الزَّكَاةُ لِأَنَّهَا ثَبَتَتْ فِي ذِمَّتِهِ فَلَا يُسْقِطُهَا مَا لَحِقَ مِنْ الدَّيْنِ بَعْدَ ثُبُوتِهَا جَوْهَرَةٌ (قَوْلُهُ: لَهُ مُطَالِبٌ مِنْ جِهَةِ الْعِبَادِ) أَيْ طَلَبًا وَاقِعًا مِنْ جِهَتِهِمْ
ص260 – كتاب حاشية ابن عابدين رد المحتار ط الحلبي – كتاب الزكاة – المكتبة الشاملة
