—that of property intended for trade. If he sells it, he pays zakat on it as soon as he has sold it and received its price, provided a year has elapsed on the money originally used to purchase it. He also transmitted this opinion from Mālik. They did not disagree that property purchased for personal use, or acquired through inheritance or otherwise, does not become trading property merely through a subsequent intention to trade in it.

They also disagreed about property purchased for both purposes. Ibn al-Qāsim gave precedence to personal use, consistent with his principle that property purchased for trade becomes property held for personal use through intention alone, since personal use is its original status. Ashhab gave precedence to trade, consistent with his principle that personal use and trade are two independent statuses, neither of which changes into the other through intention alone. When both intentions coincide, precedence is therefore given, as a precaution, to the one that entails zakat. This is analogous to two sets of testimony, one affirming a ruling and the other denying it, and to Mālik’s ruling that a man with a household in Mecca and another in an outlying region is considered to be performing tamattuʿ (ʿumrah followed by Hajj with a release from consecration between them).

The third category consists of property intended for either purpose—personal use or growth in wealth—namely, gold and silver jewellery. Here, no distinction is made between acquisition without purchase and acquisition by purchase: in either case, the ruling follows the owner’s intention. If the owner intends it for trade, zakat is due on it. If it is intended for personal use, for his family or female slaves to wear—or for herself to wear, if the owner is a woman—no zakat is due on it. There are two opinions concerning jewellery kept for hire: does this remove it from the category of property held for personal use and make zakat obligatory on it, or not?

Section: Differences in the Zakat Rulings Governing Trade

Traders fall into two categories: those who continually turn over their stock and those who do not. The former buy and sell frequently and cannot keep track of the annual holding periods of their goods. Such a trader designates a month each year in which he values the goods he holds and totals the debts owed to him that he expects to recover. He then pays zakat on all of this together with the cash he holds. The other kind is the trader who holds stock: he buys goods and waits for a ready market. No zakat is due on the goods he purchases until he sells them, even if they remain with him for years.

Section: What Is Combined for Zakat Assessment

Different categories are not combined for zakat, but all property within a single category is combined, despite differences in its kinds, names, and characteristics. Thus, all camels constitute a single category and are combined for zakat, despite differences in their names and characteristics. Sheep and goats likewise constitute a single category and are combined for