Zakat on Shares Bought for Trading

Short answer: Shares held with intent to resell are trade goods (ʿurūḍ at-tijārah). On your zakat day, pay 2.5% of the portfolio's full market value — not its purchase cost. Details: Include accumulated dividends and the cash sitting in your brokerage account. Switching between shares mid-year does not break the hawl, and profit follows the capital's hawl. If you are at a loss, value at the actual market price of your zakat day. Evidence: Quran 2:267 (spending from what you earn — understood to include trade wealth); Sahih al-Bukhari 1454 (one-fortieth on money); the Permanent Committee and Shaykh Ibn Baz on valuing trade shares at market price annually; AAOIFI Shariah Standard 35 (Zakat) follows the same method. Application: On your zakat day open your brokerage statement → add market value of all shares + cash balance + receivable dividends → pay 2.5%. For complex individual cases, consult a qualified scholar.