Please advice about the Al-Mabroor cattle feeding scheme. Is Zakaat payable on the full investment amount? Or just the profits?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh

Generally, in the Al-Mabroor Cattle Investment Scheme, one invests in the scheme with the intention of purchasing cattle for resale and capital gain. As such the cattle will be treated as merchandise/stock in trade. Hence, the laws of zakāt on merchandise will be applicable and not the laws pertaining to zakāt on animals.[1]

Zakāt is obligatory on the current market value on the day of calculating one’s zakāt.  For example, a person invested R5 million in the Al Mabroor Cattle Scheme.  On the day of calculating one’s zakāt, the market value of one’s investment is R 5,500,000.  If one’s liabilities do not exceed one’s assets, then such a person will be obligated to pay zakāt of 2.5% of R 5,500,000 plus the value of other zakātable assets.

You may contact Al-Mabroor directly regarding the evaluation of your investment assets for Zakaat computation. The Darul Iftaa only advises Al-Mabroor Investments in an external capacity and is not responsible for management.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Ismail Desai,

Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.