Zakat on Sukuk and Conventional Bonds

Short answer: (1) Genuinely asset-backed sukuk (ownership in real assets/projects with true profit-and-loss sharing): permissible; zakat — at market value (2.5%) if held to trade, or via the underlying zakatable assets/received profit if held long-term; paying on full value is the simple, safe route. (2) Conventional bonds/debentures — loan instruments at fixed interest — are impermissible to trade: your principal remains yours (zakatable yearly), the interest must be given away without expecting reward, and you should exit quickly. Details: The name 'sukuk' alone does not make it halal — examine the structure: if a guaranteed-rate 'rent/profit' is in effect dressed-up loan interest, the ruling is that of bonds. Two quick tests: do you share losses, and is the return tied to the asset's real income? Evidence: Quran 2:275 and 2:279; Sahih Muslim 1598; AAOIFI Shariah Standards (sukuk and zakat); the Islamic Fiqh Academy, Jeddah, on bonds and the conditions of valid sukuk. For complex individual cases, consult a qualified scholar.