I have a bank loan, a monthly salary, and no savings from my salary. Do I need to pay zakat?

Question

I live and work out of my home country as an expat. I somehow got a bank loan last year which is equivalent of my country currency 3500000.

Every month, I'm paying installment as 90000 (equivalent of my country currency value) from my monthly salary which is about 170000 (home country currency value).

I have no saving from my salary as for loan deduction & family expenses. Out of 3500000 loan amount, I don't have any cash in my hand as I spent around 2300000 for family and home. I lent out 600000 (which will be returned to me) and invested 600000 for business (which will be refunded and getting some separate amount as monthly profit depending monthly gross profit of business).

Now, do I need to give zakat? Last year, I gave zakat of the amount I had in my hand. This year, some of them asking to check with expert if my zakat is appropriate or not?

Even if I don't have to give zakat, even then I can give as Sadqah. Asking just for clarification.

Answer 1

I agree that you should ask the expert in calculating your zakat. However, I'll just add a bit of information around this matter.

1. The 600.000 that you lent out might be eligible for zakat. I've read a few opinion regarding this matter. One of them states that if the person who borrows the money can easily pay you back, you should pay zakat for it since it's really similar to having someone else looks after your wealth. If the person is having a hard time paying you back, you don't have to pay zakat for it. This is just one of the opinion that I'm following. Feel free to read more on this matter.
2. The 600.000 that you invested is definitely eligible for zakat. What's left (saved) from the monthly profit that you receive is also eligible for zakat. I think this is something we can all agree based on our knowledge of zakat.

The above are two things that you should consider when calculating the amount of your wealth. After considering the nisab and haul of your wealth, you can decide the amount of zakat you should be paying.

I'd still suggest that you consult this matter to an expert in your area because they are more familiar with the condition and are able to calculate the right amount of zakat to be paid.