The Alms (Zakat) in Islam
Zakat consists of two types. Zakāh is wājib (obligatory) on every Muslim
(male, female, adult or child) who has possessed a zakāh-payable amoun for one
lunar year.
Contents
- The Types of Alms (Zakat)
- Commentary on Alms
- The Zakāh of ʿEid al-Fiṭr
- The Eight Categories of Recipients
- Back to: Islamic Shariah, Theology and Jurisprudence
The Alms (Zakat)
The Types of Alms (Zakat)
(فصل) الأموال التي تلزم فيها الزكاة ستة أنواع: النعم والنقدان والمعشرات وأموال
التجارة ، وواجبها ربع عشر قيمة عروض التجارة والركاز والمعدن.
Chapter
The Wealth upon Which Zakah is Compulsory are Six Types:
1.
Livestock.
2. Money.
3. Crops.
4. Wealth acquired from business
in which two and half percent of the value of the commodity should be
discharged.
5. Treasure troves.
6. Mines.
Commentary on Zakat
1 Zakāh is wājib on every Muslim (male, female, adult or child) who has possessed a zakāh-payable amount for one lunar year.
2 Zakāh on livestock is limited to camels, cattle, sheep and goats. Zakāh is wājib when one has owned (1) a zakāh-payable number of livestock, (2) for one lunar year and (3) has been grazing them on unowned open range pasturage for the entire year. There is no zakāh on cattle that were fed fodder or grain only even if they could have otherwise been grazed.
3 Zakāh is wājib for anyone who has possessed the zakāh-payable amount of gold
or silver for one lunar year. Niṣab, the minimum that necessitates zakāh for
gold is 20 mithqals (84.8 grams), on which 2.5%
is due and for silver is
200 dirhams (594 grams), on which 2.5% is due. While there is a considerable
difference between the value of the gold and silver zakāh minimum, the minimum
for monetary currency should correspond with that of silver, since it is more
beneficial for the poor.
4 The zakāh for crops is only on the staple types that people cultivate, dry,
and store, such as wheat, barley, millet, rice etc. There is no zakāh on fruit
except for raw dates and grapes. There is no zakāh on
vegetables nor is
there zakāh on seasonings such as cumin or coriander since the aim in
using them is preparation of food, not nourishment. The minimal quantity on
which zakāh is payable for crops is 618.8 kilograms of net dried weight, free
of husks or chaff. The zakāh for crops that have been watered without effort,
as by rain and the like, is 10 percent of the crop. The zakāh for crops that
have been watered with effort, such as on land irrigated by ditches is 5
percent of the crop. One is obligated to pay zakāh as soon as one possesses
the zakāhpayable amount of grain, or when the ripeness and wholeness of a
zakāh-payable amount of dates or grapes is apparent, otherwise, one is not
obligated.
5 Zakāh on trade goods is wājib for anyone who: (1) has possessed trade goods for a year, (2) whose value at the zakāh year‟s end equals or exceeds the zakāh minimum of gold or silver, (3) that the trade goods have been acquired through a transaction, or received as a gift given in return for something else, or such as an article rented from someone in order to rent them out to others at a profit, or land rented from someone in order to rent it out to others at a profit and, (4) that at the time of acquisition, the owner intended to use the goods for trade.
6 An immediate zakāh of twenty percent is due when one finds a treasure trove
that was buried in pre-Islamic time or by non-Muslims, ancient or modern, if
it amounts to the zakāh minimum and the land is
not owned. If such a
treasure is found on owned land, it belongs to the owner of the land. If found
in a masjid or street, or if it was buried in Islamic times, it is considered
as a lost and found article.
7 A zakāh of 2.5 percent is immediately due on (1) the zakāh minimum or more of gold or silver (excluding anything else such as iron, lead, crystal, emerald, or other, on which there is no zakāh), (2) extracted from a mine located on land permissible for the miner to work or owned by him, and, (3) that this amount of ore has been gathered by working at the site one time, or several times uninterrupted by abandoning or neglecting the project. The zakāh is only paid after the ore is refined into metal.
Note: The Zakāh of ʿEid al-Fiṭr:
The zakāh of ʿEid al-Fiṭr is wājib for every free Muslim, male, female or child, provided that one has the necessary amount of food (2.036 kgs of wheat) or in money value thereof for the day of ʿEid for himself and those whom one is obliged to support, what one needs to clothe them, and in excess of one‟s debts and housing expenses.
The zakāh of ʿEid al-Fiṭr becomes wājib when the sun sets on the night before the ʿEid.
The zakāh of ʿEid al-Fiṭr consists of 2.036 kgs of the main staple of the area in which it is given, of the kinds of crops on which zakāh is payable (if the main staple is bread, only wheat may be given).
It is permissible to give the zakāh of ʿEid al-Fiṭr to deserving recipients anytime during Ramaḍān, though the best time is on the day of ʿEid al-Fiṭr before the ṣalāh. It is not permissible to delay giving it until after the day of the ʿEid, that is one may give it until sunset, and is a sin to delay until after this, and one must make it up.
Note: The Eight Categories of Recipients:
1. Faqīr (destitute) – someone who does not have wealth orearning that
is sufficient for himself.
2. Miskīn (poor) – someone who has something
to spend for his needs but it is not sufficient.
3. ʿĀmil – Zakāh
collector.
4. Muallafat al-qulūb – those whose hearts are to be
reconciled.
5. Riqāb – those slaves who are purchasing their freedom.
6.
Those in debt
7. Sabīlullah (those fighting for Allah) – people enganged
in Islāmic military operations for whom no salary has been allotted in the
army roster.
8. Ibn al-sabīl – the traveller in need of money.