Is there any Zakaat on a house in which a person lives?

Answer By Dr Zakir Naik,Again in this issue too there is a same difference of opinion. Normal ruling is that what is the basic necessity, the shelter, the house which you require protection from the prying eyes, protection from heat, cold, rain, it is a basic necessity and the house in which you live is not liable for Zakaat. There is no difference of opinion but in such cases as the questioner has asked that he has a mansion, a person who may be having a wife and 3-4 children may require 2 rooms, 3 rooms, 5 rooms, 6 rooms, how many? But if he has a mansion, which may be equivalent t to 10 houses, then should he pay Zakaat or not? So again most of the scholars, they say that the house in which you live is not liable for Zakaat but it will fall under the category of Israaf, as Allah says in the Qur’an in Surah Israa ch. no. 17 verse no. 26 and 27 that “Be not a spend thrift, be not extravagant. For verily a person who is a spendthrift is a brother of the devil.”
Allah says in Surah Furqaan ch. no. 25 verse no. 67 that
“These are the believers who are neither miser, niggardly neither they are extravagant, they follow a middle path.”
So extravagance is haraam in Islam. So having such mansions is totally prohibited, people say its haraam, people say its Maqroo whatever it is but yet because they are living in it most of the scholars say Zakaat will need not be paid.
But again the same group of scholars Ibn Aqueel, Ibn ul Arbi, Shakh Abu Zohra, Shaikh Abdul Waaf Khalaf, Shaikh Abdul Rahman, Abdul Rahman Al Hassan, Shaikh Yusuf Al Qardawi these group of scholars they say that if a person has a mansion which is much more than what the basic requirements, multiple times more, then its an excess wealth and I agree with the questioner that he could have bought 10 houses and lived in one so on 9 houses there would have been Zakaat. Since he’s excessively rich these group of scholars say that Zakaat should be paid even on that house. A person who owns many houses also he should pay Zakaat on this and I agree with that view and even if it’s not liable the person is so rich so even if he gives 2.5%, it will be better for him it will be a protection for him on the day of Judgment. So I am of the view that these people should pay Zakaat on the house.