– khashyata al-ṣadaqah (“for fear of the zakah”): grammatically, it is a purpose clause (mafʿūl li-ajlih) that is contested between the two verbs in the phrase “he neither combines nor separates.” If the phrase is referred to the collector, it means “for fear that the amount will be reduced,” while if it is referred to the owner, it means “for fear that the amount will increase.”

– illā an yashāʾ rabbuhā — or — illā an yashāʾ al-muṣaddiq (“unless its owner — or the collector — so wills”): that is, unless the owner chooses to give it voluntarily. This is an emphatic way of denying that the payment is obligatory.

– khashyata al-ṣadaqah: the noun khashyah denotes fear that is grounded in knowledge of what is feared; hence the verse, “Only those of His servants who have knowledge truly fear Allah” (Q 35:28). Here, the one paying zakah is aware of the consequences that follow from separating or combining the pasturing animals.

– khalīṭayn (the two partners): partners specifically in pasturing livestock. The term khulṭah (with ḍamma on the khāʾ) refers to the animals mixing together for a full lunar year in the night-pen, the grazing grounds by day, the milking place, with the breeding male, and in the pasture. Partnership can be of two kinds: (1) partnership of description, where each partner’s stock is distinct by one or more identifying features; or (2) partnership in the very animals, where both own a shared quota jointly.

– yatarājiʿāni bi-s-sawiyah (with a doubled yāʾ): meaning “on equal terms.” If the collector takes the zakah of the two partners from the property of one of them, he then seeks recourse against the other, taking from him the amount that had been due from him.

– harimah (with fatḥah on the hāʾ and kasrah on the rāʾ): an aged animal whose teeth have fallen out because of old age.

– dhātu ʿawār (with fatḥah or ḍamma on the ʿayn): an animal that is blind in one eye or plainly diseased. Some linguists say the form with fatḥah means “defective,” while the form with ḍamma is restricted to one-eyed blindness.

– tays: the male goat. Because its meat usually smells unpleasant and is of poor quality, a defective tays is not accepted for zakah; if it is of good stock, however, it is classed as a breeding male (faḥl) and may not be taken unless the donor approves.

– ar-riqqah (with a kasrah on the rāʾ, a fatḥah on the qāf, ending with a tāʾ marbūṭah): pure silver. The final hāʾ compensates for a dropped wāw, as in the word ʿiddah (waiting period).