Mon 13 رمضان 1447 (02 Mar 2026)
[The Ruling on Taking Zakat for One Who Owns Farmland That He Cannot Cultivate]
Mufti:
Alsayyed Muhammad b. Abdallah Awad Al-Muayyady
Fatwa number: 17186
Number of views: 3
[The Ruling on Taking Zakat for One Who Owns Farmland That He Cannot Cultivate]
Fatwa number: 17186
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Question: A man owns two plots measuring forty ḥablahs. Years may pass in which he is unable to plant them—due to scant rainfall or the like. He has nothing in hand and has a family. If he were to sell the two plots, people’s blame and censure would befall him. Is it permissible for him to take zakat or not?
Answer—and Allah is the Granter of success and aid: Wealth (ghinā) is of two types: legal (sharʿī) and customary (ʿurfī).
The “wealthy” person in the law is one who owns the amount upon which zakat is due—namely, a nisab or more—of gold, silver, grain, or the three categories of pasturing livestock; or who owns what equals a nisab in value of what the earth produces; or who owns trade goods whose value reaches that amount. If what we have mentioned is not realized for him, then he is not “wealthy” in the legal sense.
As for one who owns two plots as the questioner described—he is not considered “wealthy” in customary usage, even if the value of a single plot equals a nisab or more.
On the basis of what we have mentioned, it is permissible for such a person to take from zakat, for he is not wealthy—neither legally nor customarily. And Allah knows best.
Source : Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1
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