Title: Does Zaka'h Apply if one Owes a Loan? Question: Does one have to pay Zaka'h , if one owns a house on mortgage? Answer: Zaka'h is not to be paid on any amount that is borrowed from someone. However, this does not mean that the borrower is not liable to pay any Zaka'h on his wealth. On the contrary, it means that if a person owes some amount to another person, he shall not include that borrowed amount while calculating his total wealth, 2.5 percent of which has to paid as Zaka'h (if this wealth exceeds 612 grams of silver). To facilitate the calculation of Zaka'h of wealth, under the circumstances, the following guidelines may be followed: Zaka'h = 2.5 % of W (where 'W' is the total wealth of a person excluding assets of personal and business use as well as any borrowed amount). Provided 'W' is greater than 612 grams. Mortgage on a house should be treated in the same way as a loan. 30 th December 1999