Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (6/146)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

“The price for which it was purchased is not taken into consideration. If he purchases merchandise with a taxable minimum amount of currency or merchandise, he builds upon its existing zakah year; but if he purchases it with grazing livestock, he does not build upon it . . .”

His statement, “The price for which it was purchased is not taken into consideration”: That is, when its zakah year is complete, the price for which it was purchased is not considered in appraising it. This is because its value may rise or fall. A person may purchase such merchandise when, at the time of purchase, it reaches the minimum taxable threshold, but when the zakah year is complete it no longer reaches that threshold, in which case no zakah is due on it. Or he may purchase it when it reaches one minimum taxable threshold, and when the zakah year is complete it reaches two thresholds.

If someone were to ask: This profit has not completed a full zakah year, since its value only rose in the final month of the year?

The answer is: We say that it follows its principal asset, just as the offspring of grazing livestock follow their principal asset. Just as the offspring of grazing livestock are not required to complete a full zakah year, but rather follow their principal asset, so too the profit from trade follows its principal asset and is not required to complete a full zakah year. This has already been discussed at the beginning of the Book of Zakah.

His statement, “The price for which it was purchased is not taken into consideration”: If, at the time of purchase, it reaches the minimum taxable threshold, and when the zakah year is complete it still reaches that threshold, then the two cases are equivalent. Nevertheless, we do not say that the price for which it was purchased is taken into consideration. Even in this case, we say that what counts is its value when the zakah year is complete.

His statement, “If he purchases merchandise with a taxable minimum amount of currency or merchandise, he builds upon its existing zakah year”: Currency is the plural of “price,” and it is called thus because it is the price of things; namely, gold and silver.

Thus, if someone purchases merchandise with a taxable minimum amount of currency—for example, a man has two hundred dirhams and, during the zakah year, purchases merchandise with them—he does not begin a new zakah year. Rather, he builds upon the first one, because the zakah year for merchandise is built upon the original asset.

وَلَا يُعْتَبَرُ مَا اشْتُرِيتْ بِهِ وَإِنِ اشْتَرَى عَرَضاً بِنِصَابٍ مِنْ أَثْمَانٍ، أَوْ عُرُوضٍ بَنَى عَلَى حَوْلِهِ وَإِنِ اشْتَراه بِسَائِمَةٍ لَمْ يَبْنِ ........... قوله: «ولا يعتبر ما اشتريت به». أي: لا يعتبر في تقويمها عند تمام الحول ما اشتريت به؛ وذلك لأن قيمتها تختلف ارتفاعاً ونزولاً، ربما يشتري هذه العروض وهي وقت الشراء تبلغ النصاب، وعند تمام الحول لا تبلغ النصاب، فلا زكاة فيها، وربما يشتريها وهي تبلغ نصاباً وعند تمام الحول تبلغ نصابين. فإن قال قائل: ربحها هذا لم يتم عليه الحول؛ لأنها لم ترتفع قيمتها إلا في آخر شهر من السنة؟ فالجواب: قلنا: إن هذا تابع لأصله كنِتَاجِ السائمة، فكما أن نتاج السائمة لا يشترط له تمام الحول، بل يتبع أصله، كذلك أيضاً ربح التجارة يتبع أصله، ولا يشترط له تمام الحول، وقد سبق هذا في أول كتاب الزكاة. وقوله: «ولا يعتبر ما اشتريت به». لو كانت عند الشراء تبلغ النصاب وعند تمام الحول تبلغ النصاب، فهنا يستوي الأمران، ومع ذلك لا نقول: يعتبر ما اشتريت به، حتى في هذه الحال نقول: المعتبر ما كان قيمة لها عند تمام الحول. قوله: «وإن اشترى عرضاً بنصاب من أثمان، أو عروض بنى على حوله». الأثمان: جمع ثمن وسميت بذلك؛ لأنها ثمن الأشياء، وهي الذهب والفضة. فلو اشترى عرضاً بنصاب من أثمان، كرجل عنده مائتا درهم، وفي أثناء الحول اشترى بها عرضاً، فلا يستأنف الحول بل يبني على الأول؛ لأن العروض يبنى الحول فيها على الأول.