excludes minors and the insane from this general ruling. Those who disagree find no support for their position in Allah’s words:

“Establish prayer and give zakat.” [al-Baqarah: 43]

Allah has joined the two together only in affirming their obligation generally, not in making zakat obligatory solely upon those for whom prayer is obligatory. Just as prayer is obligatory upon a slave, whereas zakat, according to them, is not, and zakat is obligatory upon a menstruating woman by unanimous agreement, whereas prayer is not, so too, according to us, zakat is obligatory upon minors and the insane, although prayer is not obligatory upon them. This is clear.

Section
Determining the Minimum Threshold for Wealth Subject to Zakat

The threshold for gold is twenty mithqāls. If its weight falls clearly below this, with the scales agreeing on the shortfall, no zakat is due unless the coins are accepted on the same terms as full-weight coins when circulating by number.

The threshold for silver is five ūqiyyahs, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stated. An ūqiyyah is forty dirhams according to the old weight standard, known as al-kayl. Thus, five ūqiyyahs are two hundred dirhams by that standard, equivalent to two hundred and eighty dirhams according to the weight standard of our time, since our silver currency runs at one hundred and forty dirhams for every hundred by the old standard. This amounts to thirty-five dinars in dirhams.

If their weight falls clearly below this, with the scales agreeing on the shortfall, no zakat is due unless they circulate by number and are accepted on the same terms as full-weight coins; in that case, zakat is due. It has also been said that zakat is not due if the shortfall is substantial. If, however, they are not accepted on the same terms as full-weight coins, no zakat is due, whether the shortfall is slight or substantial. It has also been said that zakat is due when the shortfall is slight, even if they are not accepted on the same terms as full-weight coins.

Ibn Lubābah held that zakat is not due on them when the shortfall is slight, even if they are accepted on the same terms as full-weight coins. His reasoning is that, although each dirham may have a slight shortfall on which the scales do not agree, the aggregate shortfall is substantial enough for the scales to agree upon it.

There are thus three opinions concerning underweight dirhams that circulate by number and are accepted on the same terms as full-weight coins. The first is that no zakat is due on them. The second is that zakat is due on them. The third distinguishes between a slight shortfall, on which the scales do not agree, and a substantial shortfall, on which there is agreement among