Q. A man who has two sons and five daughters bought two plots of land. Upon the insistence of his sons, he gave one plot to his two daughters-in-law in equal shares. Now he has bought another plot of land. Should he register it to his five daughters, or should he go back to the price of the original lands? How much should he give to each son and daughter?

(Name and address withheld)

A. When his two sons asked this man to register the land in the name of their wives, they knew that they would be the actual owners. The man should have consulted a scholar before doing this. He would have been told by any scholar that he must maintain justice between his children. He cannot favor any with anything special. To favor one child over the rest is a grave sin. The Prophet called it injustice, and all injustice is forbidden in Islam. The man has one of two options.

The first, which may be easier, is to reclaim the land given to his two daughters-in-law and keep it in his own name. It will be part of his estate, which should be shared out between his heirs as God has specified. If, in the meantime, he wants to give it to his children, he should divide it between them equally.

A daughter is given the same gift as a son. She is not given half a son’s gift, because the claims of sons and daughters are equal during the lifetime of their parents.

The second option is to consider what he gave his daughters-in-law as a gift to his sons and to give each of his five daughters an equal gift. This is the only way to maintain fairness between them. Once more, the gift to be given to a daughter should be the same as the one given to a son.

Zakah on Investment

Q. I am investing some money in real estate. The project involves paying for the property in eight equal instalments. When all payments have been made, the property will be rented out. Do I have to pay zakah on the instalments I have already paid? I have not yet finished my payments. When the property becomes mine, what is my zakah liability? Is it on the rent or the value of the property?

I.K.

A. As I understand it, you are buying a flat or a shop or a house and paying its price over a period of time. This property you are buying is intended for rent. Then you pay zakah on the rent when you start receiving it.

There are two views as to how zakah on such property is calculated. One view says that the value of the property and its income are liable to zakah at the rate of 2.5 percent. The other view considers that what is liable to zakah is only the income received from such property. This income is considered after deducting all expenses incurred on the property and its maintenance. Whatever the owner incurs in connection with this property or its rental, such as paying income tax or paying a fee to an estate agent to find a tenant is deductible from the income. Only what one receives as net income is zakahable at the rate of 10 percent, with the zakah due on the day the rental is received. An exception is made in the case of an owner who has no other means of income, and needs to rent the property in order to use its rental for his essential needs. In this case, the zakah is payable on the net rental, after deducting an amount equivalent to what the owner needs for his living expenses as well as other disbursements in connection with the rental or the maintenance of the property. This zakah is due on the day the rental is received. It does not wait until a year has passed.

Two points need to be clarified. The first is that in the case that a portion of the rental is needed for one’s living expenses. These are estimated for a full year. The second is that when we calculate the income, we make it on an annual basis. Suppose the owner receives the rent every month. He should make his calculation on the basis of the full year: how much he receives in a full year, his expenses during that year, and the maintenance costs throughout.

Eating Crab

Q. May I ask whether it is permissible to eat crab?

I. Khan

A. God says in the Qur’an, instructing the Prophet: “Say: ‘In all that has been revealed to me, I do not find anything forbidden to eat, if one wishes to eat thereof, unless it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine — for all that is unclean — or a sinful offering over which any name other than God’s has been invoked.” (6: 145) This is a statement outlining the four food categories that are forbidden to Muslims. Verse 3 of Surah 5 gives more details of these categories, but all remain within these four. As you see, there is nothing to make crab forbidden to eat. It is indeed permissible.