is half a nisab, zakah becomes obligatory. It should not be said: “This portion was picked before the second portion was picked,” or, in the case of crops, “It was harvested before the second portion was harvested,” because it is the produce of a single year.

If he sells the first half of the orchard whose fruit has ripened before the fruit ripens in its other half, the zakah is not waived. Once zakah has become obligatory, disposing of the produce from his ownership does not waive it.

As for the produce of two separate years, it is not combined. Thus, if a person cultivates land in the year twelve, then cultivates it again in the year thirteen, the two are not combined, because each is independent of the other.

The author of al-Rawd’s statement, “The produce of a single year is combined … even if it is from that which bears fruit twice in a year,” is open to question. With regard to that which bears fruit twice in a year, each yield is considered separately, even if it is from a single tree.

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—also teaches us that if a person has orchards in several locations, far apart from one another, their produce is combined. Thus, if he has a farm in Mecca that amounts to half a nisab and another in Medina that amounts to half a nisab, zakah is obligatory upon him.

Different varieties are combined with one another. For example, sukkarī dates are combined with barḥī dates, and so on. Likewise, with wheat, maʿiyyah, luqaymī, ḥinṭah, and jarībah are combined with one another.

However, one genus is not combined with another. The evidence that varieties are combined with one another, unlike distinct genera, is that the Prophet ﷺ made zakah obligatory on fruit without qualification. It is known that dates comprise different varieties, yet he did not command that each variety be distinguished from