Zakah on the money of a cancelled sale contract

Assalam-u-Alaikum, Please I want to ask about nisaab-e-zakat and please guide me from which month I will count myself as sahib-e-nisaab. I am sending you details about my belongings. In February 2009 I had $2500. Then I made an agreement with my brother. In that agreement, I shared one plot (belongs to my brother) with my brother. Terms of agreement: I will pay half of the cost of plot (10 Lac) in three installments. 1st installment in Feb 2009 = 2 lac Pakistani rupess. 2nd installment in Sep 2009 = 2 lac Pakistani rupess. 3rd installment in Feb 2011 = 6 lac Pakistani rupees. I paid 1st and 2nd installment on time. After paying both installments I had no saving. Then in October 2009 I had $300 as saving. In November 2009 I had $ 600 as saving. In December 2009 I had $1500 as saving. After that my saving was increasing more. In May 2010 my brother told me that he does not want to share plot with me and wants to live alone. I agreed. He told me that he will return my money within four or five months. I want to ask that from which month I will consider myself as Sahib-e-nisaab. What is the nisaab for zakat if I have only cash in hand and no gold? Please remember that I (unmarried) am living in China and I donot have any house of my own. I live in a house on rent. My family also lives in Pakistan in a house on rent. I just want to buy that plot that we (my brother and I) will construct it together and will live together in that house.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

We will answer your question in the following points:

1- In principle, cash currency should be valued by gold and silver as stated by the contemporary scholars, and these days it is better to measure it by gold as it is more constant in its price; the Nisaab (the minimum amount liable for Zakah) of gold is 85 grams. Therefore, if the money equals 85 grams of gold then Zakah must be paid on it.

2- If the money reaches the Nisaab and a whole lunar year elapses on it, then Zakah must be paid on it. Therefore, if the first amount of money – which is 2500 dollars – reached the Nisaab and a whole lunar year elapsed on it before giving it to your brother, then you must pay Zakah on it.

3- The money that you have with your brother is considered as a loan (a debt on his liability) and if the debt is with a rich person who acknowledges it and is able to pay it back, then Zakah must be paid on this money if it reaches the Nisaab by itself or with other money added to it provided that a whole lunar year elapses on it.

4- As regards the money that you got afterwards: then it could be either: A) a profit of other money, then its lunar year is the same as the main money, or B) new money which you possessed independently, then if it reaches Nisaab by itself, you may make a separate lunar year for it, or rather you may pay the Zakah of all the money you have when the lunar year elapses on the first money as a way of hastening to pay the Zakah on the part of the money which you got later, and this is permissible according to the preponderant opinion of the scholars. Of course, this is easier for the owner of the money and more beneficent for the poor. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 92234.

Finally, it should be noted that once a sale agreement is concluded and the agreement fulfilled all the pillars and conditions of valid sale, then the contract becomes binding and neither party of the contract is permitted to cancel it. However, if one party to the contract asks the other party to invalidate the sale contract between them, then it is desirable for the other party to invalidate the sale with him, as the Prophet said: "Whoever frees a Muslim from a commercial obligation, Allaah will forgive his sins on the Day of Judgment.” [Abu Daawood and Ibn Maajah]

Allaah Knows best.