No Zakat on Vegetables

Question: A plot of land that used to be planted with wheat, barley, and corn is now cultivated only with vegetables such as tomatoes, beans, okra, and other kinds of produce. Is zakat due on these crops or not? The same question applies to livestock that has reached the nisab (minimum threshold)—camels, sheep, and cattle—if we take one animal from the nisab and give it to someone entitled to receive zakat, or slaughter it and distribute its meat to the poor, or consume some of it ourselves, or sell it and donate its price in charity. What is the ruling on these actions?

Answer:
First: The sounder of the two scholarly opinions is that vegetables are not subject to zakat in and of themselves the way grains and fruits are. Zakat becomes due only on their monetary value if you realise proceeds from their sale and one full lunar year passes over that amount; in that case, zakat is paid on the value. As for the vegetables themselves, the correct view held by the majority is that no zakat is due on them.

As for the camels, sheep, and cattle you mentioned, zakat is obligatory provided the following conditions are met:

1. The herd reaches the nisab (minimum threshold).
2. One full lunar year has elapsed over them.
3. The animals are kept for milk and breeding, not for labour.
4. They have grazed for the entire year—or most of it—on unrestricted pasture.

When these conditions are fulfilled, zakat becomes due. It is to be handed over to the poor and the needy; the animals are not to be slaughtered with their meat distributed. Rather, they are to be delivered exactly as Allah has commanded—given to the poor and needy. If the ruler dispatches zakat collectors, it is handed over to them; if no collectors are present, the Muslim himself pays it out to those entitled to it.