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Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar
used to pay the zakat al-fitr for those slaves of his that were at
Wadi'l-Qura and Khaybar.
Yahya related to me that Malik said,
"The best that I have heard about the zakat al-fitr is that a man has
to pay for every person that he is responsible for supporting and whom
he must support. He has to pay forall his mukatabs, his mudabbars, and
his ordinary slaves, whether they are present or absent, as long as
they are muslim, and whether or not they are fortrade. 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, 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."
Yahya said that Malik said, concerning two associates, "If they
share one herdsman, one male animal, one pasture and one watering
place then the two men are associates, as long as each one of them
knows his own property from that of his companion If someone cannot
tell his property apart from that of his fellow, he is not an
associate, but rather, a co-owner "
Malik said, "It is not
obligatory for both associates to pay zakat unless both of them have a
zakatable amount (of livestock). If, for instance, one of the
associates has forty or more sheep and goats and the other has less
than forty sheep and goats, then the one who has forty has to pay
zakat and the one who has less does not. If both of them have a
zakatable amount (of livestock) then both of them are assessed
together (i.e the flock is assessed as one) and both of them have to
pay 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,
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 that he had heard that Umar ibn
Abd al-Aziz wrote to his governors telling them to relieve any people
who payed the jizya from paying the jizya if they became muslims.
Malik said, "The sunna is that there is no jizya due from women or
children of people of the Book, and that jizya is only taken from men
who have reached puberty. The people of dhimma and the magians do not
have to pay any zakat on their palms or their vines or their crops or
their livestock. This is because zakat is imposed on the muslims to
purify them and to be given back to their poor, whereas jizya is
imposed on the people of the Book to humble them. As long as they are
in the country they have agreed to live in, they do not have to pay
anything on their property except the jizya. If, however, they trade
in muslim countries, coming and going in them, a tenth is taken from
what they invest in such trade. 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."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he asked Ibn Shihab about
olives and he said, "There is a tenth on them."
Malik said,
"The tenth that is taken from olives is taken after they have been
pressed, and the olives must come to a minimum amount of five awsuq
and there must be at least five awsuq of olives. If there are less
than five awsuq of olives, no zakat has to be paid.
Olive
trees are like date palms insofar as there is a tenth on whatever is
watered by rain or springs or any natural means, and a twentieth on
whatever is irrigated. However, olives are not estimated while on the
tree. The sunna with us as far as grain and seeds which people store
and eat is concerned is that a tenth is taken from whatever has been
watered by rain or springs or any natural means, and a twentieth from
whatever has been irrigated, that is, as long as the amount comes to
five awsuq or more using the aforementioned sa, that is, the sa of the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. 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."
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had read what Umar ibn al-
Khattab had written about zakat, and in it he found:
"In the
name of Allah, the Merciful, the ompassionate."
The Book of
Zakat.
On twenty-four camels or less zakat is paid with
sheep, one ewe for every five camels.
On anything above that,
up to thirty-five camels, a she-camel in its second year, and, if
there is no she camel in its second year, a male camel in its third
year.
On anything above that, up to forty-five camels, a she-
camel in its third year.
On anything above that, up to sixty
camels, a she camel in its fourth year that is ready to be sired.
On anything above that, up to seventy-five camels, a she-camel in
its fifth year.
On anything above that, up to ninety camels,
two she-camels in their third year.
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 related to me that Malik said, "I consider that if a man
dies and he has not paid zakat on his property, then zakat is taken
from the third of his property (from which he can make bequests), and
the third is not exceeded and the zakat is given priority over
bequests. In my opinion it is the same as if he had a debt, which is
why I think it should be given priority over bequests."
Malik
continued, "This applies if the deceased has asked for the zakat to be
deducted. If the deceased has not asked for it to be deducted but his
family do so then that is good, but it is not binding upon them if
they do not do it."
Malik continued, "The sunna which we are
all agreed upon is that zakat is not due from someone who inherits a
debt (i.e. wealth that was owed to the deceased), or goods, or a
house, or a male or female slave, until a year has elapsed over the
price realised from whatever he sells (i.e. slaves or a house, which
are not zakatable) or over the wealth he inherits, from the day he
sold the things, or took possession of them."
Malik said,
"The sunna with us is that zakat does not have to be paid on wealth
that is inherited until a year has elapsed over it."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Khusayfa that he
had asked Sulayman ibn Yasar whether zakat was due from a man who had
wealth in hand but also owed a debt for the same amount, and he
replied, "No."
Malik said, "The position that we are agreed
upon concerning a debt is that the lender of it does not pay zakat on
it until he gets it back. Even if it stays with the borrower for a
number of years before the lender collects it, the lender only has to
pay zakat on it once. If he collects an amount of the debt which is
not zakatable, and has other wealth which is zakatable, then what he
has collected of the debt is added to the rest of his wealth and he
pays zakat on the total sum."
Malik continued, "If he has no
ready money other than that which he has collected from his debt, and
that does not reach a zakatable amount, then he does not have to pay
any zakat. 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."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ziyad ibn Sad that Ibn Shihab
said, "Neither jurur, nor musran al-fara, nor adhq ibn hubayq should
be taken as zakat from dates. They should be included in the
assessment but not taken as zakat. "
Malik said, "This is the
same as with sheep and goats, whose young are included in the
assessment but are not (actually) taken as zakat. There are also
certain kinds of fruit which are not taken as zakat, such as burdi
dates (one of the finest kinds of dates), and similar varieties.
Neither the lowest quality (of any property) nor the highest
should be taken. 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, 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 ."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Zurayq
ibn Hayyan, who was in charge of Egypt in the time of al-Walid,
Sulayman, and Umar ibn Abd al-'Aziz, mentioned that Umar ibn Abd al-
Aziz had written to him saying, "Assess the muslims that you come
across and take from what is apparent of their wealth and whatever
merchandise is in their charge, one dinar for every forty dinars, and
the same proportion from what is less than that down to twenty dinars,
and if the amount falls short of that by one third of a dinar then
leave it and do not take anything from it. As for the people of the
Book that you come across, take from the merchandise in their charge
one dinar for every twenty dinars, and the same proportion from what
is less than that down to ten dinars, and if the amount falls short by
one third of a dinar leave it and do not take anything from it. Give
them a receipt for what you have taken f rom them until the same time
next year."
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."
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. "
Malik said, "In my opinion, and Allah knows best, nothing is taken from what comes out of mines until what comes out of them reaches a value of twenty gold dinars or two hundred silver dirhams. When it reaches that amount there is zakat to pay on it where it is on the spot. Zakat is levied on anything over that, according to how much of it there is as long as there continues to be a supply from the mine. If the vein runs out, and then after a while more becomes obtainable, the new supply is dealt with in the same way as the first, and payment of zakat on it is begun on it as it was begun on the first. Malik said, "Mines are dealt with like crops, and the same procedure is applied to both. Zakat is deducted from what comes out of a mine on the day it comes out, without waiting for a year, just as a tenth is taken from a crop at the time it is harvested, without waiting for a year to elapse over it."
Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibn Shihab said, "The first
person to deduct zakat from allowances was Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan."
(i.e. the deduction being made automatically) .
Malik said,
"The agreed sunna with us is that zakat has to be paid on twenty
dinars (of gold coin), in the same way as it has to be paid on two
hundred dirhams (of silver)."
Malik said, "There is no zakat
to pay on (gold) that is clearly less than twenty dinars (in weight)
but if it increases so that by the increase the amount reaches a full
twenty dinars in weight then zakat has to be paid. Similarly, there is
no zakat to pay on (silver) that is clearly less than two hundred
dirhams (in weight), but if it increases so that by the increase the
amount reaches a full two hundred dirhams in weight then zakat has to
be paid. 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, 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."
Malik said, "If a man has four awsuq of dates he has harvested,
four awsuq of grapes he has picked, or four awsuq of wheat he has
reaped or four awsuq of pulses he has harvested, the different
categories are not added together, and he does not have to pay zakat
on any of the categ ries - the dates, the grapes, the wheat or the
pulses - until any one of them comes to five awsuq using the sa of the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There is no
zakat (to pay) on anything less than five awsuq of dates. 'lf any of
the categories comes to five awsuq, then zakat must be paid. If none
of the categories comes to five awsuq, then there is no zakat to pay.
The explanation of this is that when a man harvests five awsuq of
dates (from his palms), he adds them all together and deducts the
zakat from them even if they are all of different kinds and varieties.
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, 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."
Yahya related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar that
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Zakat is not permissible for someone who is not in need except for
five:
someone fighting in the way of Allah, someone who collects
zakat, someone who has suffered (financial) loss (at the hands of
debtors), someone who buys it with his own money, and some one who has
a poor neighbour who receives some zakat and gives some as a present
to the one who is not in need."
Malik said, "The position
with us concerning the dividing up of zakat is that it is up to the
individual judgement of the man in charge (wali). Whichever categories
of people are in most need and are most numerous are given preference,
according to how the man in charge sees fit. It is possible that that
may change after one year, or two, or more, but it is always those who
are in need and are most numerous that are given preference, whatever
category they may belong to. This is what I have seen done by people
of knowledge with which I am satisifed."
Malik said, "There
is no fixed share for the collector of the zakat, except according to
what the imam sees fit."
Yahya said that Malik said, "The position with us concerning a
man who has zakat to pay on one hundred camels but then the zakat
collector does not come to him until zakat is due for a second timeand
by that time all his camels have died except five, is that the zakat
collector assesses from the five camels the two amounts of zakat that
are due from the owner of the animals, which in this case is only two
sheep, one for each year. This is because the only zakat which an
owner of livestock has to pay is what is due from him on the day that
the zakat is (actually) assessed. His livestock may have died or it
may have increased, and the zakat collector only assesses the zakat on
what he (actually) finds on the day he makes the assessment. If more
than one payment of zakat is due from the owner of the livestock, he
still only has to pay zakat according to what the zakat collector
(actually) finds in his possession, and if his livestock has died, or
several payments of zakat are due from him and nothing is taken until
all his livestock has died, or has been reduced to an amount below
that on which he has to pay zakat, then he does not have to pay any
zakat, and there is no liability (on him) for what has died or for the
years that have passed.
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from his
father that he said to Umar ibn al-Khattab, "There is a blind she-
camel behind the house,'' soUmar said, "Hand it over to a household so
that they can make (some) use of it." He said, "But she is blind."
Umar replied, "Then put it in a line with other camels." He said, "How
will it be able to eat from the ground?" Umar asked, "Is it from the
livestock of the jizya or the zakat?" 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, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, and the one he sent to his daughter Hafsa was the last of them
all, and if there was any deficiency in any of them it was in Hafsa's
portion.
"He put meat from the slaughtered animal on the
platters and sent them to the wives of the Prophet, 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."
Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki from
Tawus al Yamani that from thirty cows, Muadh ibn Jabal took one cow in
its second year, and from forty cows, one cow in its third or fourth
year, and when less than that (i.e. thirty cows) was brought to him he
refused to take anything from it. He said, "I have not heard anything
about it from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace. When I meet him, I will ask him." But the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died before Muadh ibn
Jabal returned.
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."
