Grazing (al-sawm, regular pasturing) means that the animals feed on open range. Therefore, no zakat is due on beasts that are stall-fed with fodder the owner buys for them or gathers—whether grass or any other feed—so long as they are fed in that manner for the whole lunar year or for most of it.

First: Zakat on camels

Once the above conditions are met, the following applies: for every five camels, one sheep is due; for ten camels, two sheep; for fifteen, three sheep; and for twenty, four sheep. This is established by both the Sunnah and scholarly consensus.

When the herd reaches twenty-five, the due share is a bint makhāḍ (a she-camel that has completed one year and entered its second). It is so called because, in most cases, its mother is pregnant (makhāḍ); actual pregnancy, however, is not a requirement—this is simply a customary description. If a bint makhāḍ is unavailable, an ibn labūn (a male camel in its second year) may be given instead, in accordance with the report of Anas: “If there is no bint makhāḍ among them, then an ibn labūn, a male, is to be taken,” recorded by Abu Dawud. The precise meaning of ibn labūn will be clarified later.

When the camels number thirty-six up to forty-five, the obligation is a bint labūn (a she-camel that has completed two years), as affirmed by unanimous agreement. It receives this name because its mother has usually calved by then and is producing milk (labn, “milk”); again, actual lactation is not a condition—this is merely the prevailing description.