one-tenth of it each. That would amount to only five taxable shares in total, so no zakat would be due, because none of us owns more than half of a taxable minimum.

Another example: two men enter into a business partnership, and their combined capital reaches the taxable minimum. Yet no zakat is due from them, because the share of each one does not reach the taxable minimum. Thus, no zakat is due from them, even though they conduct business in the same shop, for commingling applies only to grazing livestock; with regard to anything other than grazing livestock, commingling has no effect.

Second: if a man owns twenty sheep in Riyadh and twenty in al-Qasim, the majority of scholars hold that zakat is due from him, since the owner is one person. According to the madhhab, however, no zakat is due from him, based on the Prophet’s saying: “Jointly held property is not to be divided, nor separate holdings combined, in order to avoid zakat.” (1) This indicates that if his property is separated without any contrivance, no zakat is due from him. The more cautious view is that of the majority, and the hadith is understood as referring to commingling in shared management and conditions.

Third: if a Muslim and someone who is not liable for zakat, such as a disbeliever, have commingled livestock through shared management and conditions, zakat is due from the Muslim on his share if it reaches the taxable minimum. This is because the commingling of someone who is not liable for zakat is treated as though it does not exist.

Fourth: if two people share livestock, but one intends his share for trade while the other intends his for milk production and breeding, this commingling has no effect, because their respective zakat obligations differ: one pays zakat according to its value, while the other pays zakat from the livestock itself.

Fifth: if two people have commingled livestock, with one owning two-thirds and the other one-third, the zakat is apportioned between them according to their respective ownership: two-thirds upon one and one-third upon the other.