disbelief—that is, outward deeds—except for uttering the testimony of faith alone. This exception rests on the Prophet’s words, peace and blessings be upon him:
“I have been commanded to fight the people until they proclaim, ‘There is no deity but Allah,’ and believe in me.”
In this ḥadīth he links inner knowledge to verbal proclamation, and speech is itself an outward act.
Hence, those who likened every other obligatory deed to this verbal act maintained: “All the prescribed actions are conditions for the knowledge that constitutes faith.”
Conversely, those who likened speech to the rest of the deeds—about which the majority agree they are not conditions of faith—said: “Assent (taṣdīq) alone is the prerequisite of faith, and by it a person’s standing with Allah is that of a believer.”
Both views are anomalous. The position adopted by the majority is to exempt all outward acts from being conditions of faith—with the sole exception of pronouncing the two testimonies.
[The Second Section: Determining the Kinds of Wealth on Which Zakah Is Obligatory]
As for the types of property subject to zakah, the scholars agreed on some items and differed over others.
They unanimously agreed that zakah is due on:
• Two mineral categories: gold and silver, provided they are not fashioned into jewelry;
• Three categories of livestock: camels, cattle, and sheep (or goats);
• Two kinds of grain: wheat and barley;
• Two kinds of fruit: dates and raisins; a rare dissent exists regarding olives.
(The only point of dispute concerning gold itself relates to jewelry.)
The jurists of the Ḥijāz—Mālik, al-Layth, and al-Shāfiʿī—held that jewelry intended for adornment and wear is exempt from zakah, whereas Abū Ḥanīfah and his companions ruled that it is liable.
The root of their disagreement is whether jewelry more closely resembles ordinary merchandise, whose primary purpose is benefit and use, or resembles gold and silver bullion, whose primary purpose is to serve as a medium of exchange. Whoever likens it to merchandise says: no zakah is due; whoever likens it to bullion says: zakah is required.
A second cause of their divergence is the variance in the transmitted reports. Jābir related that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
“There is no zakah on jewelry.”
On the other hand, ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb narrated from his father, from his grandfather:
“A woman came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, accompanied by her daughter, whose hand bore two thick bangles of gold. He asked her, ‘Do you pay zakah on these?’ She replied, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Would you like Allah to adorn you with two bangles of fire on the Day of Resurrection…?’”