[The Book of Zakāh]
[The First Question: Identifying those upon whom Zakāh is obligatory]
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
The Book of Zakāh. Once its obligation has been established, the discussion surrounding this act of worship may be summed up in five questions:
- Who is obliged to pay it?
- On which types of wealth is it due?
- How much is due, and from what minimum amount does it become due?
- When does it become obligatory and when does it not?
- Who may receive it, and how much may each recipient take?
Proof of the obligation of Zakāh is established by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the unanimous agreement of the scholars; there is no dispute on this point.
The First Question
As for those upon whom it is binding, the jurists agree that Zakāh is incumbent upon every free, adult, sane Muslim who possesses the prescribed minimum amount (nisāb) in full ownership.
They differed, however, about its obligation on minors, the mentally incapacitated, slaves, non-Muslim subjects (ahl al-dhimmah), and those whose ownership is deficient, such as one who is in debt or one who holds a debt, as well as property whose principal is held in perpetual endowment.
Concerning minors, one group maintained that Zakāh must be paid from their wealth. This was the view of ʿAlī, Ibn ʿUmar, Jābir, and ʿĀʾishah among the Companions, and of Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, al-Thawrī, Aḥmad, Isḥāq, Abū Thawr, and many other jurists of the various regions.
Another group said that no Zakāh at all is due on an orphan’s wealth. This was the position of al-Nakhaʿī, al-Ḥasan, and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr from the Successors.
A third group drew a distinction between what the land yields and what it does not, saying: Zakāh is due on agricultural produce but not on livestock, ready cash, trade goods, and the like. This is the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah and his colleagues.
Others made a different distinction with respect to ready cash, saying: Zakāh is due on everything except cash.