Fatwa #2707810 October 2013United Kingdom
Business partnership
Question
I want to ask if I have to do partnership with another person for business, do I need to inquire and make sure that the contribution from the other person is 100% halaal earned money? If it is doubtful source as i am not sure how he earned, then I should not do this?secondly can we decide before hand how much is the percentage of profit for each participant? thirdly for the money spent in the business, do I have to give zakaat every year or it is only on the profit after one year.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
- 1. Rasullallah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said,
طلب كسب الحلال فريضة بعد الفريضة
[مشكاة][i]
“Earning Halal Rizq (lawful sustenance) is fardh (mandatory) after other faraaidh (obligations)”
When intending to enter into a partnership, it is important that the partner’s contributions are halal. If there is no justifiable reason in Shariah to clarify the partner’s contribution as haram or doubtful, then the income will be regarded as halal.
- When entering into a partnership, the percentage of profit to be shared must be specified. If the profit to be shared was not specified before signing the contract then such a partnership is not valid in Shariah. [ii]
- 3. If the business you are conducting has excess stock in trade which is equivalent to the threshold of Nisaab (87.479g of gold or 612.35g of silver) or its value in money and one year has passed over that, then you have to give 2.5% amount in Zakat. If you have made profit, then the profit will also be added to the stock in trade amount in calculating the Zakat. When we refer to excess, it means the amount must not be covered by a debt.
For further details on how to calculate Zakat, you may refer to the following table.
|
Personal Wealth |
Amounts: |
|
1. Amount of Cash and Savings at home or in the bank |
R 10,000 |
|
2. Current value of any gold and silver jewelry, coins, utensils etc |
R 5,000 |
|
3. Value of assets and merchandise for trade |
R 20,000 |
|
4. Receivables and loaned amounts to others |
R 5,000 |
|
Total these amounts here: |
R 40,000 |
|
Amount Debts to be paid: |
R 20,000 |
|
Subtract the total amount of debts for the year from the above amount. |
|
|
Nett Total of Zakatable Wealth |
R 20,000 |
|
If the net total of Zakatable Wealth is more than the Nisab amount then… |
|
|
Multiply the net total by 2.5% (net amount x 0.025) |
R 500 |
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Fahad Abdul Wahab
Student Darul Iftaa
USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
[i] عن عبد الله بن مسعود قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: طلب كسب الحلال فريضة بعد الفريضة
[مشكاة. باب الكسب وطلب الحلال. رقم الحديث 2781]
[ii] و منها: ان يكون الربح معلوم القدر, فان كان مجهولا تفسد الشركة , لان الربح هو المعقود عليه, وجهالته توجب فساد العقد كما فى البيع و الاجارة
[بدائع الصنائع ج7 ص505 دار الكتب علمية]
An Introduction To Islamic Finance (Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani) Pg 35