Question:
Dear scholars, as-salamu `alaykum. I have a piece of land in Baghdad that was taken by force by the Americans, so should I pay Zakah on it? Jazakum Allah khayran.

Answer:
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah, the Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake alone.
According to the majority of Muslim scholars, Zakah is not to be paid on what is taken by force.
In As-Shirazi's Al-Muhadhdhab, it is stated that "Zakah should not be given for the property that is seized forcefully or that is lost until it returns to its owner."
In Al-Mughani by Ibn Qudama Al-Maqdesi, it is said "the ruling to be applied [on property that is] seized by force, stolen, denied, or lost is the same. There are two views on this concern.
1. Zakah is not to be paid on them. This is view is attributed to Abu Bakr Al-Athram and Abu Al-Hasan Al-Maymuni. Their view is also supported by Abu Hanifa and As-Shaf`i in one of his old opinions. It is like the case in which one is no longer in charge of one�s property and is denied access to it, then one shouldn't pay its Zakah.
2. The second view is that a person should pay the Zakah for what's taken by force because it is his property.
Sheikh Hamid Al-`Ali, a Kuwaiti scholar holds that "there is no Zakah to be paid for the lands seized by the Americans because they are taken by force. In addition, Zakah is not to be paid for a land unless trade is involved, especially after the passage of a year from the day of buying it with the intention of trading.�
Responded by: A Group of Islamic Researchers