Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. The custom in some Moroccan cities is that a person who wishes to rent a house pays an amount of money as a guarantee before renting a house. He gets this money back at the end of the rental contract. This amount of money is above the nisab. Who should pay the Zakat of this amount of money? زكاة مال الضمان

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say: If the owner of the house keeps the money and does not use it, and only retains it as a guarantee, then undoubtedly the tenant has to pay Zakat. The owner of the house is not obliged to pay Zakat on this amount because he is not the owner of the amount. However, if this money is taken by the owner of the house as a debt which he can use as he wishes, and when the rental period ends he gives the tenant back an equivalent amount of money, then the owner of the house has to pay the Zakat of the money if a year passes while it is in his possession, and the money is not less than nisab. The tenant is not obliged to pay Zakat according to the preponderant opinion of the scholars. The majority of the scholars said that the tenant should pay the Zakat of this money every year with the Zakat of the rest of his wealth. Dr. Khalid al-Mosleh   10/03/1425