and his neighbour mix their livestock simply by pasturing them side-by-side, provided that no distinction is made between them with respect to the watering spot, the grazing range, the nightfold, or the place of milking. According to the sounder view, they must likewise share the same shepherd and breeding male, and—again on the sounder opinion—no prior intention to form a partnership is required.
The stronger position is that this rule of commingling (khulṭah) also carries weight for fruit, crops, ready money, and trade goods, on condition that the watchman, threshing floor, shop or storehouse, guard, place of storage, and the like are not kept separate.
Zakāt on livestock becomes obligatory only when a full lunar year has passed while the herd is in the owner’s possession. Offspring born to a complete nisab are assessed with that nisab at the end of its year, whereas animals he acquires by purchase or the like are not added for purposes of the year. If, after the year has elapsed, he claims that the offspring were born later, he is believed; if suspicion arises, he must swear an oath. Should his ownership lapse during the year and then return, or should he exchange the herd for another of the same kind, a new year must be counted from that point.
A further condition is that the animals be pasture-fed (sā’ima). If they are given fodder for most of the year, no zakāt is due. Otherwise, the sounder view is that if the fodder supplied is an amount they could have done without and suffered no clear harm, zakāt remains obligatory; if the amount is greater than that, it is not. Likewise, if they graze on their own, if pasture-fed animals are nevertheless provided with fodder, or if they are working beasts employed in ploughing, irrigation, and the like, no zakāt is due according to the sounder opinion.
When a herd comes to the watering place, its zakāt is collected there; if not, it is collected at the owners’ dwellings. The owner’s statement about the number of the animals is accepted if he is trustworthy; otherwise, they are counted as they pass through a narrow passageway.
Allah knows best.