Umdat at-Talib - Al-Buhuti - (1/97)

The Book of Zakāh ⦗1⦘

Zakāh is obligatory upon every free Muslim⦗2⦘ who possesses a full nisāb with stable ownership once an entire lunar year has passed over it, except in crops subject to the tithe⦗3⦘.

The offspring of grazing livestock and the profit of trade are attached to their principal: if the principal itself constitutes a nisāb they are counted with it, and if not, they are used to complete it.

Zakāh must be paid retroactively on a debt owed to one, on usurped property, and the like, once it is recovered or the claim is cleared.

No zakāh is due on the wealth of anyone whose outstanding debt—even an expiation or the like—reduces his net assets below the nisāb.

The zakāh year for a minor’s property is the same as for an adult⦗4⦘. Should the nisāb drop below the threshold, or the owner sell it for goods of a different category without aiming to evade the obligation, the ḥawl is interrupted.

Continued possession of the wealth and the owner’s ability to pay are not prerequisites; zakāh remains a liability on the estate like any other debt.

Chapter: Zakāh on Grazing Livestock

Zakāh is due on animals kept for milk-production or breeding when they have pastured freely for most of the year⦗5⦘.

(1) Zakah derives from zaka yazku (to grow), because it purifies the payer from sin—keeping him away from it—while increasing his reward, or because it makes the wealth itself grow. (2) In manuscript A the wording is “a free Muslim,” and this is the reading adopted by Shaykh Uthman in his commentary Hidayat al-Raghib, 2/259. (3) The term muʿashar designates produce that emerges from the land, such as grains and fruits. It is so called because a tithe (one-tenth) or a half-tithe is obligatory on it. The zakah is paid immediately upon harvest, as in the verse: “And give its due on the day of harvest” (Quran 6:141). (4) In other words, the zakah year for young pasturing livestock is calculated from the moment the owner acquires them, just as for adult animals. (5) samat means that the animals grazed on unrestricted, ownerless pasture.

كتاب الزكاة (١) تجبُ على حرٍّ مسلمٍ (٢) مَلَكَ نصابًا مِلْكًا مُستقرًا، إذا مضى الحَوْلُ في غير مُعشَّرٍ (٣) . ويتبع نِتاجُ سَائمةٍ وربحُ تجارةٍ أصله إنْ بلغ نصابًا، وإلَّا فَمِنْ كَمالِه. ويُزكَّى دَيْنٌ وغَصبٌ ونحوه إذا قُبض أو أُبرئ منه لِمَا مضى. ولا زكاةَ في مالِ مَنْ عليه دَيْنٌ يُنقِصُ النصابَ ولو كفارةً ونحوها. وَحَوْلُ صِغارٍ مِنْ مِلْكٍ كِكِبارٍ (٤) ، ومتى نقصَ النصابُ أو بَاعه بغيرِ جِنسه لَا فِرارًا منها انقطعَ الحَوْلُ. ولا يُعتبر لها بقاءُ مالٍ ولا إمكانُ أداءٍ وهي كالدَّيْنِ في التَّرِكَةِ. بابُ زكاةِ السائمة تجبُ فيما أُعدَّ لدَرٍّ ونسلٍ إذا سَامتْ (٥) أكثرَ الحَوْلِ.

(١) الزكاةُ: مِنْ زكَا يَزكُو إذَا نَما؛ لأنَّها تُطهِّر مُؤدِّيها مِنَ الإِثْمِ أيْ تُنزهِّه عنهُ وتُنمِّي أَجْرهُ، أو تُنمِّي المالَ. (٢) في (أ): "مسلم حر" وعليه شرح الشيخ عثمان في "هداية الراغب" (٢/ ٢٥٩). (٣) المعشر: هو الخارج من الأرض كالحبوب والثمار، وسمي مُعشَّرًا لوجوب العشر أو نصفه فيه، ويخرج بمجرد الحصاد كما قال تعالى: {وَآتُوا حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ}. (٤) أي: حول صغار السائمة مِنْ وقتِ مِلْكه لها كحول كبارها. (٥) سامت، أي: رعت المباح.