—“And in their wealth there is a due share for the asker and the deprived” (51:19); “those who do not give the zakah” (41:7); and, “we used not to feed the poor” (74:44).
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In the second year after the Hijrah, the detailed rulings of zakah were laid out: the kinds of property subject to it, the nisab for each, and the exact proportion to be paid.
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In the ninth year after the Hijrah, when people were entering the religion of Allah in great numbers and the realm of Islam had widened, the Prophet ﷺ dispatched zakah supervisors and collectors to the outlying regions to gather it.
Sixth: Decision of the Islamic Fiqh Council (Rabita) concerning zakah on rental income from real estate—full text:
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise belongs to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet, our master and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and upon his family and Companions.
To proceed:
The Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League, at its eleventh session held in Makkah from Sunday 13 Rajab 1409 AH (19 February 1989 CE) to Sunday 20 Rajab 1409 AH (26 February 1989 CE), examined the question of zakah on rental income from real estate. After discussion and deliberation, it resolved by majority vote as follows:
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Real estate kept for personal residence is considered private property (quniyyah); no zakah is due on it whatsoever—neither on the property itself nor on any notional rental value.
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Real estate held for trade is treated as commercial merchandise; zakah is due on the property’s capital value, calculated at the completion of every lunar year.
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Real estate held for lease is subject to zakah on its rental income only, not on the property itself.
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The rate of zakah on the capital value of real estate held for trade, and on the income of real estate held for lease, is