How to Pay Zakat in Supermarkets: A Practical Case Study in a Supermarket in Erbil City

Abstract

This research presents an applied jurisprudential study to clarify how to calculate Zakat in supermarkets, as they are among the most prominent forms of contemporary commercial activity based on merchandise, and related cash, debts, profits, and partnerships. The research aims to establish the jurisprudential rulings related to Zakat on merchandise, and to clarify the criteria for assessing Zakatable assets and the mechanism for calculating and paying Zakat in the context of supermarkets, in light of the opinions of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence, while taking into account the objectives of Islamic law and the requirements of contemporary accounting practices. The research concludes that Zakat is obligatory on Zakatable assets in supermarkets when they meet the Sharia conditions, and that merchandise is valued at the market price at the end of the Zakat year, with the permissibility of deducting due debts according to the legally recognized guidelines. The importance of this research stems from its focus on one of the pillars of Islam, its connection to a widespread contemporary economic reality, and its addressing of practical jurisprudential issues related to Zakat in modern commercial activities.

The researcher reviewed several contemporary Islamic legal studies that addressed zakat on merchandise and corporate zakat in general. However, most of these studies did not focus on supermarkets as a separate case study, highlighting the unique nature of this research and its distinction in combining theoretical jurisprudence with practical application.

The choice of this topic stems from the numerous questions merchants have regarding how to calculate zakat, the complex accounting practices of supermarkets, the scarcity of specialized applied studies in this area, and the need to connect Islamic jurisprudence with contemporary economic realities in a practical and systematic way.