Zakat

If it passes the full weight then I think there is zakat to pay, whether it be dinars or dirhams.” (i.e. the zakat is assessed by the weight and not the number of the coins.) Malik said, about a man who had one hundred and sixty dirhams by weight, and the exchange rate in his town was eight dirhams to a dinar, that he did not have to pay any zakat.

Zakat had only to be paid on twenty dinars of gold or two hundred dirhams. Malik said, in the case of a man who acquired five dinars from a transaction or in some other way which he then invested in trade, that, as soon as it increased to a zakatable amount and then a year elapsed, he had to pay zakat on it, even if the zakatable amount was reached one day before or one day after the passing of a year.

There was then no zakat to pay on it from the day the zakat was taken until a year had elapsed over it. Malik said, in the similar case of a man who had in his possession ten dinars which he invested in trade and which reached twenty dinars by the time one year had elapsed over them, that he paid zakat on them right then and did not wait until a year had elapsed over them, (counting) from the day when they actually reached the zakatable amount.

This was because a year had elapsed over the original dinars and there were now twenty of them in his possession. After that there was no zakat to pay on them from the day the zakat was paid until another year had elapsed over them.

Malik said, “What we are agreed upon (here in Madina) regarding income from hiring out slaves, rent from property, and the sums received when a slave buys his freedom, is that no zakat is due on any of it, whether great or small, from the day the owner takes possession of it until a year has elapsed over it from the day when the owner takes possession of it.”

Malik said, in the case of gold and silver which was shared between two co-owners, that zakat was due from any one whose share reached twenty dinars of gold, or two hundred dirhams of silver, and that no zakat was due from anyone whose share fell short of this zakatable amount. If all the shares reached the zakatable amount and the shares were not equally divided, zakat was taken from each man according to the measure of his share.

This applied only when the share of each man among them reached the zakatable amount, because the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had said, “There is no zakat to pay on less than five awaq of silver.” Malik commented, “This is what I prefer most out of what I have heard about the matter.”

Malik said, “When a man has gold and silver dispersed among various people he must add it all up together and then take out the zakat due on the total sum.” Malik said, “No zakat is due from some one who acquires gold or silver until a year has elapsed over his acquisition from the day it became his.”

He must, however, keep a record of the amount that he has collected and if, later, he collects another amount which, when added to what he has already collected, brings zakat into effect, then he has to pay zakat on it.” Malik continued, “Zakat is due on this first amount, together with what he has further collected of the debt owed to him, regardless of whether or not he has used up what he first collected.

If what he takes back reaches twenty dinars of gold, or two hundred dirhams of silver he pays zakat on it. He pays zakat on anything else he takes back afte rthat, whether it be a large or small amount, according to the amount.”

Malik said, “What shows that zakat is only taken once from a debt which is out of hand for some years before it is recovered is that if goods remain with a man for trading purposes for some years before he sells them, he only has to pay zakat on their prices once. This is because the one who is owed the debt, or owns the goods, should not have to take the zakat on the debt, or the goods, from anything else, since the zakat on anything is only taken from the thing itself, and not from anything else.”

Malik said, “Our position regarding some onewho owes a debt, and has goods which are worth enough to pay off the debt, and also has an amount of ready money which is zakatable, is that he pays the zakat on the ready money which he has to hand. If, however, he only has enough goods and ready money to pay off the debt, then he does not have to pay any zakat.

But if the ready money that he has reaches a zakatable amount over and above the amount of the debt that he owes, then he must pay zakat on it.”

Malik said, “The position among us (in Madina) concerning goods which are being managed for trading purposes is that if a man pays zakat on his wealth, and then buys goods with it, whether cloth, slaves or something similar, and then sells them before a year has elapsed over them, he does not pay zakat on that wealth until a year elapses over it from the day he paid zakat on it.

He does not have to pay zakat on any of the goods if he does not sell them for some years, and even if he keeps them for a very long time he still only has to pay zakat on them once when he sells them.”

Malik said, “The position among us concerning a man who uses gold or silver to buy wheat, dates, or whatever, for trading purposes and keeps it until a year has elapsed over it and then sells it, is that he only has to pay zakat on it if and when he sells it, if the price reaches a zakatable amount. This is therefore not the same as the harvest crops that a man reaps from his land, or the dates that he harvests from his palms.”

Malik said, “A man who has wealth which he invests in trade, but which does not realise a zakatable profit for him, fixes a month in the year when he takes stock of what goods he has for trading, and counts the gold and silver that he has in ready money, and if all of it comes to a zakatable amount he pays zakat on it.”

Malik said, “The position is the same for muslims who trade and muslims who do not. They only have to pay zakat once in any one year, whether they trade in that year or not.”

On anything above that, up to one hundred and twenty camels, two she-camels in their fourth year that are ready to be sired. On any number of camels above that, for every forty camels, a she-camel in its third year, and for every fifty, a she-camel in its fourth year. On grazing sheep and goats, if they come to forty or more, up to one hundred and twenty head, one ewe.

On anything above that, up to two hundred head, two ewes. On anything above that, up to three hundred, three ewes. On anything above that, for every hundred, one ewe. A ram should not be taken for zakat. nor an old or an injured ewe, except as the zakat-collector thinks fit. Those separated should not be gathered together nor should those gathered together be separated in order to avoid paying zakat.

Whatever belongs to two associates is settled between them proportionately. On silver, if it reaches five awaq (two hundred dirhams), one fortieth is paid.

Yahya said that Malik said, “The best that I have heard about some one who has sheep or goats with two or more shepherds in different places is that they are added together and the owner then pays the zakat on them. This is the same situation as a man who has gold and silver scattered in the hands of various people. He must add it all u p and pay whatever zakat there is to pay on the sum total.”

Yahya said that Malik said, about a man who had both sheep and goats, that they were added up together for the zakat to be assessed, and if between them they came to a number on which zakat was due, he paid zakat on them.

Malik added, “They are all considered as sheep, and in Umar ibn al-Khattab’s book it says, ‘On grazing sheep and goats, if they come to forty or more, one ewe.’ ‘ Malik said, ‘If there are more sheep than goats and their owner only has to pay one ewe, the zakat collector takes the ewe from the sheep. If there are more goats than sheep, he takes it from the goats.

If there is an equal number of sheep and goats, he takes the ewe from whichever kind he wishes.’ Yahya said that Malik said, ‘Similarly, Arabian camels and Bactrian camels are added up together in order to assess the zakat that the owner has to pay. They are all considered as camels. If there are more Arabian camels than Bactrians and the owner only has to pay one camel, the zakat collector takes it from the Arabian ones.

If, however, there are more Bactrian camels he takes it from those. If there is an equal number of both, he takes the camel from whichever kind he wishes.’ Malik said, ‘Similarly, cows and water buffaloes are added up together and are all considered as cattle. If there are more cows than water buffalo and the owner only has to pay one cow, the zakat collector takes it from the cows.

If there are more water buffalo, he takes it from them. If there is an equal number of both, he takes the cow from whichever kind he wishes. So if zakat is necessary, it is assessed taking both kinds as one group.’

Yahya said that Malik said, ‘No zakat is due from anyone who comes into possession of livestock, whether camels or cattle or sheep and goats, until a year has elapsed over them from the day he acquired them, unless he already had in his possession a nisab of livestock. (The nisab is the minimum amount on which zakat has to be paid, either five head of camels, or thirty cattle, or forty sheep and goats).

If he already had five head of camels, or thirty cattle, or forty sheep and goats, and he then acquired additional camels, or cattle, or sheep and goats, either by trade, or gift, or inheritance, he must pay zakat on them when he pays the zakat on the livestock he already has, even if a year has not elapsed over the acquisition.

And even if the additional livestock that he acquired has had zakat taken from it the day before he bought it, or the day before he inherited it, he must still pay the zakat on it when he pays the zakat on the livestock he already has ‘ Yahya said that Malik said, ‘This is the same situation as some one who has some silver on which he pays the zakat and then uses to buy some goods with from somebody else.

He then has to pay zakat on those goods when he sells them. It could be that one man will have to pay zakat on them one day, and by the following day the other man will also have to pay.’

Malik said, in the case of a man who had sheep and goats which did not reach the zakatable amount, and who then bought or inherited an additional number of sheep and goats well above the zakatable amount, that he did not have to pay zakat on all his sheep and goats until a year had elapsed over them from the day he acquired the new animals, whether he bought them or inherited them.

This was because none of the livestock that a man had, whether it be camels, or cattle, or sheep and goats, was counted as a nisab until there was enough of any one kind for him to have to pay zakat on it. This was the nisab which is used for assessing the zakat on what the owner had additionally acquired, whether it were a large or small amount of livestock.

Malik said, ‘If a man has enough camels, or cattle, or sheep and goats, for him to have to pay zakat on each kind, and then he acquires another camel, or cow, or sheep, or goat, it must be included with the rest of his animals when he pays zakat on them ‘ Yahya said that Malik said, ‘This is what I like most out of what I heard about the matter.’

Malik said, in the case of a man who does not have the animal required of him for the zakat, ‘If it is a two-year-old she-camel that he does not have, a three-year-old male camel is taken instead. If it is a three- or four- or five-year-old she-camel that he does not have, then he must buy the required animal so that he gives the collector what is due.

I do not like it if the owner gives the collector the equivalent value.’ Malik said, about camels used for carrying water, and cattle used for working water-wheels or ploughing, ‘In my opinion such animals are included when assessing zakat.’’’’’’”

If one of them has a thousand sheep, or less, that he has to pay zakat on, and the other has forty, or more, then they are associates, and each one pays his contribution according to the number of animals he has – so much from the one with a thousand, and so much from the one with forty.

Malik said, ‘Two associates in camels are the same as two associates in sheep and goats, and, for the purposes of zakat, are assessed together if each one of them has a zakatable amount (of camels). That is because the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘There is no zakat on less than five head of camels,’ and Umar ibn al-Khattab said, ‘On grazing sheep and goats, if they come to forty or more – one ewe.’

‘ Yahya said that Malik said, ‘This is what I like most out of what I have heard about the matter.’ Malik said that when Umar ibn al-Khattab said, ‘Those separated should not be gathered together nor should those gathered together be separated in order to avoid paying zakat,’ what he meant was the owners of livestock.

Malik said, ‘What he meant when he said, ‘Those separated should not be gathered together’ is, for instance, that there is a group of three men, each of whom has forty sheep and goats, and each of whom thus has to pay zakat. Then, when the zakat collector is on his way, they gather their flocks together so that they only owe one ewe between them.

This they are forbidden to do. What he meant when he said, ‘nor should those gathered together be separated,’ is, for instance, that there are two associates, each one of whom has a hundred and one sheep and goats, and each of whom must therefore pay three ewes. Then, when the zakat collector is on his way, they split up their flocks so that they only have to pay one ewe each.

This they are forbidden to do. And so it is said, ‘Those separated should not be gathered together nor should those gathered together be separated in order to avoid paying zakat.’

‘ Malik said, ‘This is what I have heard about the matter.’ Yahya related to me from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili from a son of Abdullah ibn Sufyan ath-Thaqafi from his grandfather Sufyan ibn Abdullah that Umar ibn al-Khattab once sent him to collect zakat. He used to include sakhlas (when assessing zakat), and they said, ‘Do you include sakhlas even though you do not take them (as payment)?’

He returned to Umar ibn al-Khattab and mentioned that to him and Umar said, ‘Yes, you include a sakhla which the shepherd is carrying, but you do not take it. Neither do you take an akula, or a rubba, or a makhid, or male sheep and goats in their second and third years, and this is a just compromise between the young of sheep and goats and the best of them.’

Malik said, ‘A sakhla is a newborn lamb or kid. A rubba is a mother that is looking after her offspring, a makhid is a pregnant ewe or goat, and an akula is a sheep or goat that is being fattened for meat.’

Malik said, about a man who had sheep and goats on which he did not have to pay any zakat, but which increased by birth to a zakatable amount on the day before the zakat collector came to them, ‘If the number of sheep and goats along with their (newborn) offspring reaches a zakatable amount then the man has to pay zakat on them.

That is because the offspring of the sheep are part of the flock itself. It is not the same situation as when some one acquires sheep by buying them, or is given them, or inherits them. Rather, it is like when merchandise whose value does not come to a zakatable amount is sold, and with the profit that accrues it then comes to a zakatable amount.

The owner must then pay zakat on both his profit and his original capital, taken together. If his profit had been a chance acquisition or an inheritance he would not have had to pay zakat on it until one year had elapsed over it from the day he had acquired it or inherited it.’

Malik said, ‘The young of sheep and goats are part of the flock, in the same way that profit from wealth is part of that wealth. There is, however, one difference, in that when a man has a zakatable amount of gold and silver, and then acquires an additional amount of wealth, he leaves aside the wealth he has acquired and does not pay zakat on it when he pays the zakat on his original wealth but waits until a year has elapsed over what he has acquired from the day he acquired it.

Whereas a man who has a zakatable amount of sheep and goats, or cattle, or camels, and then acquires another camel, cow, sheep or goat, pays zakat on it at the same time that he pays the zakat on the others of its kind, if he already has a zakatable amount of livestock of that particular kind.’ Malik said, ‘This is the best of what I have heard about this.’’’’’’’”

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Habban from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Sheep from the zakat were brought past Umar ibn al-Khattab and he saw amongst them a sheep with a large udder, ready to give milk, and he said, ‘What is this sheep doing here?’

and they replied, ‘It is one of the sheep from the zakat.’ Umar said, ‘The owners did not give this sheep willingly. Do not subject people to trials. Do not take from the muslims those of their animals which are the best food-producers.’’”

Rather, zakat should be taken from average quality property.’ Malik said, ‘The position that we are agreed upon concerning fruit is that only dates and grapes are estimated while on the tree. They are estimated when their usability is clear and they are halal to sell. This is because the fruit of date-palms and vines is eaten straightaway in the form of fresh dates and grapes, and so the assessment is done by estimation to make things easier for people and to avoid causing them trouble.

Their produce is estimated and then they are given a free hand in using their produce as they wish, and later they pay the zakat on it according to the estimation that was made.’

Malik said, ‘crops which are not eaten fresh, such as grains and seeds, which are only eaten after they have been harvested, are not estimated. The owner, after he has harvested, threshed and sifted the crop, so that it is then in the form of grain or seed, has to fulfil his trust himself and deduct the zakat he owes if the amount is large enough for him to have to pay zakat.

This is the position that we are all agreed upon here (in Madina).’ Malik said, ‘The position that we are all agreed upon here (in Madina) is that the produce of date palms is estimated while it is still on the tree, after it has ripened and become halal to sell, and the zakat on it is deducted in the form of dried dates at the time of harvest.

If the fruit is damaged after it has been estimated and the damage affects all the fruit then no zakat has to be paid. If some of the fruit remains unaffected, and this fruit amounts to five awsuq or more using the sa of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then zakat is deducted from it.

Zakat does not have to be paid, however, on the fruit that was damaged. Grapevines are dealt with in the same way. If a man owns various pieces of property in various places, or is a co-owner of various pieces of property in various places, none of which individually comes to a zakatable amount, but which, when added together, do come to a zakatable amount, then he adds them together and pays the zakat that is due on them.’’”

Zakat must be paid on anything above five awsuq according to the amount involved.” Malik said, “The kinds of grain and seeds on which there is zakat are: wheat, barley, sult (a kind of barley), sorghum, pearl millet, rice, lentils, peas, beans, sesame seeds and other such grains and seeds which are used for food. Zakat is taken from them after they have been harvested and are in the form of grai n or seed.”

He said, “People are entrusted with the assessment and whatever they hand over is accepted.” Malik was asked whether the tenth or the twentieth was taken out of olives before they were sold or after and he said, “The sale is not taken into consideration.

It is the people who produce the olives that are asked about the olives, just as it is the people who produce foodstuffs that are asked about it, and zakat is taken from them by what they say. Someone who gets five awsuq or more of olives from his olive trees has a tenth taken from the oil after pressing. Whereas someone who does not get five awsuq from his trees does not have to pay any zakat on the oil.”

Malik said, “Someone who sells his crops when they are ripe and are ready in the husk has to pay zakat on them but the one who buys them does not. The sale of crops is not valid until they are ready in the husk and no longer need water.”

Malik said, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted, “And give its due on the day of its harvesting,” that it referred to zakat, and that he had heard people saying that.

Malik said, “If someone sells his garden or his land, on which are crops or fruit which have not yet ripened, then it is the buyer who has to pay the zakat. If, however, they have ripened, it is the seller who has to pay the zakat, unless paying the zakat is one of the conditions of the sale.”

It is the same with different kinds of cereal, such as brown wheat, white wheat, barley and sult, which are all considered as one category. If a man reaps five awsuq of any of these, he adds it all together and pays zakat on it. If it does not come to that amount he does not have to pay any zakat. It is the same (also) with grapes, whether they be black or red.

If a man picks five awsuq of them he has to pay zakat on them, but if they do not come to that amount he does not have to pay any zakat. Pulses also are considered as one category, like cereals, dates and grapes, even if they are of different varieties and are called by different names. Pulses include chick- peas, lentils, beans, peas, and anything which is agreed by everybody to be a pulse.

If a man harvests five awsuq of pulses, measuring by the aforementioned sa, the sa of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he collects them all together and must pay zakat on them, even if they are of every kind of pulse and not just one kind.’

Malik said, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab drew a distinction between pulses and wheat when he took zakat from the Nabatean christians. He considered all pulses to be one category and took a tenth from them, and from cereals and raisins he took a twentieth.’

Malik said, ‘If some one asks, ‘How can pulses be added up all together when assessing the zakat so that there is just one payment, when a man can barter two of one kind for one of another, while cereals can not be bartered at a rate of two to one?’, then tell him, ‘Gold and silver are collected together when assessing the zakat, even though an amount of gold dinars can be exchanged for many times tha tamount of silver dirhams.’

‘ Malik said, regarding date palms which are shared equally between two men, and from which eight awsuq of dates are harvested, ‘They do not have to pay any zakat on them. If one man owns five awsuq of what is harvested from one piece of land, and the other owns four awsuq or less, the one who owns the five awsuq has to pay zakat, and the other one, who harvested four awsuq or less, does not have to pay zakat.

This is how things are done whenever there are associates in any crop, whether the crop is grain or seeds that are reaped, or dates that are harvested, or grapes that are picked. Any one of them that harvests five awsuq of dates, or picks five awsuq of grapes, or reaps five awsuq of wheat, has to pay zakat, and whoever’s portion is less than five awsuq does not have to pay zakat.

Zakat only has to be paid by someone whose harvesting or picking or reaping comes to five awsuq.’ Malik said, ‘The sunna with us regarding anything from any of these categories, i.e. wheat, dates, grapes and any kind of grain o rseed, which has had the zakat deducted from it and is then stored by its owner for a number of years after he has paid the zakat on it until he sell sit, is that he does not have to pay any zakat on the price he sells it for until a year has elapsed over it from the day he made the sale, as long as he got it through (chance) acquisition or some other means and it was not intended for trading.

Cereals, seeds and trade-goods are the same, in that if a man acquires some and keeps them for a number of years and then sells them for gold or silver, he does not have to pay zakat on their price until a year has elapsed over it from the day of sale. If, however, the goods were intended for trade then the owner must pay zakat on them when he sells them, as long as he has had them for a year from the day when he paid zakat on the property with which he bought them.’

Malik said, ‘The sunna that we are all agreed upon here (in Madina) and which I have heard from the people of knowledge, is that there is no zakat on any kind of fresh (soft) fruit, whether it be pomegranates, peaches, figs or anything that is like them or not like them as long as it is fruit.’ He continued, ‘No zakat has to be paid on animal fodder or herbs and vegetables of any kind, and there is no zakat to pay on the price realised on their sale until a year has elapsed over it from the day of sale which counts as the time the owner receives the sum.’

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Umar from Sulayman ibn Yasar from Irak ibn Malik from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘A muslim does not have to pay any zakat on his slave or his horse.’’’’”

and Aslam replied, “From the livestock of the jizya.” Umar said, “By AIIah, you wish to eat it.” Aslam said, “It has the brand of the jizya on it.” So Umar ordered it to be slaughtered. He had nine platters, and on each of the platters he put some of every fruit and delicacy that there was and then sent them to the wives of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the one he sent to his daughter Hafsah was the last of them all, and if there was any deficiency in any of them it was in Hafsah’s portion.

“He put meat from the slaughtered animal on the platters and sent them to the wives of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he ordered what was left of the meat of the slaughtered animal to be prepared. Then he invited the Muhajirun and the Ansar to eat it.”

Malik said, “I do not think that livestock should be taken from people who pay the jizya except as jizya.”

This is because jizya is only imposed on them on conditions, which they have agreed on, namely that they will remain in their own countries, and that war will be waged for them on any enemy of theirs, and that if they then leave that land to go anywhere else to do business they will haveto pay a tenth. Whoever among them does business with the people of Egypt, and then goes to Syria, and then does business with the people of Syria and then goes to Iraq and does business with them and then goes on to Madina, or Yemen, or other similar places, has to pay a tenth.

People of the Book and magians do not have to pay any zakat on any of their property, livestock, produce or crops. The sunna still continues like that. They remain in the deen they were in, and they continue to do what they used to do. If in any one year they frequently come and go in muslim countries then they have to pay a tenth every time they do so, since that is outside what they have agreed upon, and not one of the conditions stipulated for them. This is what I have seen the people of knowledge of our city doing.”

However, he does not have to pay zakat on any of them that are not muslim.” Malik said, concerning a runaway slave, “I think that his master should pay the zakat fo rhim whether or not he knows where he is, if it has not been long since the slave ran away and his master hopes that he is still alive and will return. If it has been a long time since he ran away and his master has despaired of him returning then I do not think that he should pay zakat for him.”

Malik said, “The zakat al-fitr has to be paid by people living in the desert (i.e. nomadic people) just as it has to be paid by people living in villages (i.e. settled people), because the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made the zakat al-fitr at the end of Ramadan obligatory on every muslim, whether freeman or slave, male or female.”