the small dirhams amounting to five ūqiyyas—two hundred dirhams—must pay zakat. The same applies to medium-sized and large dirhams. Accordingly, people follow their customary practices regarding the weights of dirhams and dinars: whatever they agree upon and designate as a dirham is a dirham, and whatever they designate as a dinar is a dinar. The Lawgiver’s words encompass what they customarily use, whether small or large. If their customary dirhams are large and they know no others, zakat is not due from a person until he possesses two hundred of them. If they are small and they know no others, zakat becomes due when he possesses two hundred of them. If they use a mixture, zakat becomes due when he possesses that number in total. This applies whether the coins are of a single issue or different issues, and whether they are pure or debased, so long as they are called dirhams without qualification. This is the view of several scholars.

If, however, a coin is called a dirham only with a qualification—for example, if it consists mostly of copper and is called a “black dirham,” falling outside the unqualified term “dirham”—then this requires further consideration. Accordingly, the correct view is that zakat is obligatory on two hundred debased dirhams, as held by Abū Hanīfa and in one of the two positions within Ahmad’s school. If a thief steals three dirhams, whether large, small, or a mixture of both, his hand is to be cut off.

As for the wasq, it was known among them to equal sixty sāʿs, and the sāʿ