Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters Regarding Zakat
كتاب الزكاة
Chapter 12
صَدَقَةِ الْبَقَرِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us; Yahya ibn Isa al-Ramli narrated to us; al-A‘mash narrated to us, from Shaqiq, from Masruq, from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to Yemen and instructed me to collect from cattle one musinnah for every forty, and one tabi‘ or tabi‘ah for every thirty.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Musinnah, tabi‘, and tabi‘ah are retained as technical cattle-age terms; no age in years is supplied.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sufyan ibn Waki‘ narrated to us; Abd al-Salam ibn Harb narrated to us, from Khusayf, from Abu Ubaydah, from Abdullah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘For thirty head of cattle, one tabi‘ or tabi‘ah is due; and for forty, one musinnah is due.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The cattle-age terms tabi‘, tabi‘ah, and musinnah are retained as in the source.
Chapter 13
صَدَقَةِ الْغَنَمِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Bakr ibn Khalaf narrated to us; Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi narrated to us; Sulayman ibn Kathir narrated to us; Ibn Shihab narrated to us, from Salim ibn Abdullah, from his father, from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: Salim read to me a document written by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning the obligatory charities, before Allah caused him to die. I found in it: ‘For forty sheep, one sheep, up to one hundred and twenty. If they increase by one, two sheep are due, up to two hundred. If they increase by one, three sheep are due, up to three hundred. When they become more numerous, one sheep is due for every hundred.’
‘I also found in it: “Separate herds are not to be combined, nor combined herds separated.” And I found in it: “A male goat, an old female, or an animal with a defect is not to be taken as charity.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The livestock categories are kept at the level stated in the source; it does not further specify species for the male goat or defective animal.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Badr Abbad ibn al-Walid narrated to us; Muhammad ibn al-Fadl narrated to us; Ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us, from Usamah ibn Zayd, from his father, from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The zakah due from Muslims is collected at their watering places.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Uthman ibn Hakim al-Awdi narrated to us; Abu Nu‘aym narrated to us; Abd al-Salam ibn Harb narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Abu Hind, from Nafi‘, from Ibn Umar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘For forty sheep, one sheep is due, up to one hundred and twenty. If the flock increases by one, two sheep are due, up to two hundred. If it increases by one, three sheep are due, up to three hundred. If it increases further, one sheep is due for every hundred. Combined herds are not to be split, nor separate herds combined, to avoid the zakah. Every pair of co-owners should settle between themselves equally. The zakah collector should not take an old female animal, a defective animal, or a male goat, unless the zakah payer wishes otherwise.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final word al-muṣaddiq can be read as the zakah collector or payer in this context; the translation distinguishes collector and payer to make the apparent contrast explicit.
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " فِي أَرْبَعِينَ شَاةً شَاةٌ إِلَى عِشْرِينَ وَمِائَةٍ فَإِذَا زَادَتْ وَاحِدَةً فَفِيهَا شَاتَانِ إِلَى مِائَتَيْنِ فَإِذَا زَادَتْ وَاحِدَةً فَفِيهَا ثَلاَثُ شِيَاهٍ إِلَى ثَلاَثِمِائَةٍ فَإِذَا زَادَتْ فَفِي كُلِّ مِائَةٍ شَاةٌ لاَ يُفَرَّقُ بَيْنَ مُجْتَمِعٍ وَلاَ يُجْمَعُ بَيْنَ مُتَفَرِّقٍ خَشْيَةَ الصَّدَقَةِ وَكُلُّ خَلِيطَيْنِ يَتَرَاجَعَانِ بِالسَّوِيَّةِ وَلَيْسَ لِلْمُصَدِّقِ هَرِمَةٌ وَلاَ ذَاتُ عَوَارٍ وَلاَ تَيْسٌ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشَاءَ الْمُصَّدِّقُ " .
The final occurrence of al-muṣaddiq is written with the same form as the earlier word for collector, though the sentence may distinguish the collector from the payer.
Does the final al-muṣaddiq refer to the payer choosing to give such an animal, or to the collector choosing to accept it?
Chapter 14
مَا جَاءَ فِي عُمَّالِ الصَّدَقَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Isa ibn Hammad al-Misri narrated to us; al-Layth ibn Sa‘d narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Sa‘d ibn Sinan, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The one who transgresses in collecting charity is like the one who withholds it.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Kurayb narrated to us; Abdah ibn Sulayman, Muhammad ibn Fudayl, and Yunus ibn Bukayr narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Asim ibn Umar ibn Qatadah, from Mahmud ibn Labid, from Rafi‘ ibn Khadij, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘The one who works collecting charity justly is like one who fights in the way of Allah until he returns home.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Amr ibn Sawwad al-Misri narrated to us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Amr ibn al-Harith informed me that Musa ibn Jubayr related to him, that Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hubab al-Ansari related to him, that Abdullah ibn Unays related to him that he and Umar ibn al-Khattab once discussed charity. Umar said, ‘Did you hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he spoke about embezzling from the charity—that whoever embezzles a camel or a sheep from it will be brought on the Day of Resurrection carrying it?’ Abdullah ibn Unays said, ‘Yes.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Badr Abbad ibn al-Walid narrated to us; Abu Attab narrated to us; Ibrahim ibn Ata, the freedman of Imran, narrated to me; my father narrated to me that Imran ibn al-Husayn was appointed to oversee the charity. When he returned, he was asked, ‘Where is the wealth?’ He said, ‘Was I sent for the wealth? We took it from the places from which we used to take it in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and we placed it where we used to place it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source does not name the sources or recipients of the charity; the wording ‘where we used to take it’ and ‘where we used to place it’ is retained.
Chapter 15
صَدَقَةِ الْخَيْلِ وَالرَّقِيقِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from Abdullah ibn Dinar, from Sulayman ibn Yasar, from Irak ibn Malik, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A Muslim owes no charity on his enslaved person or his horse.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sahl ibn Abi Sahl narrated to us; Sufyan ibn Uyaynah narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, from al-Harith, from Ali, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘I have waived for you the charity due on horses and enslaved persons.’
Chapter 16
مَا تَجِبُ فِيهِ الزَّكَاةُ مِنَ الأَمْوَالِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Amr ibn Sawwad al-Misri narrated to us; Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us; Sulayman ibn Bilal informed me, from Sharik ibn Abi Namir, from Ata ibn Yasar, from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to Yemen and said to him: ‘Take grain from grain, sheep from sheep, a camel from camels, and a cow from cattle.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us; Ismail ibn Ayyash narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ubayd Allah, from Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed zakah only on these five: wheat, barley, dates, raisins, and dhurrah.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Dhurrah is retained in transliteration because the precise modern crop identification is uncertain from the source wording alone.
قَالَ إِنَّمَا سَنَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ الزَّكَاةَ فِي هَذِهِ الْخَمْسَةِ فِي الْحِنْطَةِ وَالشَّعِيرِ وَالتَّمْرِ وَالزَّبِيبِ وَالذُّرَةِ .
The crop name al-dhurrah can be rendered with different modern grain names, and this wording alone does not settle which one is intended.
Which English crop name should be used for al-dhurrah in this corpus?
Chapter 17
صَدَقَةِ الزُّرُوعِ وَالثِّمَارِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ishaq ibn Musa Abu Musa al-Ansari narrated to us; Asim ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Asim narrated to us; al-Harith ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah ibn Sa‘d ibn Abi Dhibab narrated to us, from Sulayman ibn Yasar and Busr ibn Sa‘id, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘For what is watered by rain and springs, one-tenth is due; and for what is irrigated with drawn water, half of one-tenth is due.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives the rates as one-tenth and half of one-tenth and does not specify the water-drawing method.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harun ibn Sa‘id al-Misri Abu Ja‘far narrated to us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Yunus informed me, from Ibn Shihab, from Salim, from his father, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘For crops watered by rain, rivers, or springs, or grown as ba‘l, one-tenth is due; and for crops irrigated by water-drawing camels, half of one-tenth is due.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Ba‘l is retained as an agricultural term; the source does not explain the cultivation method in this wording. Water-drawing camels are specified for al-sawani.
قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقُولُ " فِيمَا سَقَتِ السَّمَاءُ وَالأَنْهَارُ وَالْعُيُونُ أَوْ كَانَ بَعْلاً الْعُشْرُ وَفِيمَا سُقِيَ بِالسَّوَانِي نِصْفُ الْعُشْرِ " .
The agricultural term ba‘l identifies a growing method, but this wording does not explain its precise features.
Should ba‘l be translated as naturally watered crops, or retained as a technical term?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Affan narrated to us; Yahya ibn Adam narrated to us; Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash narrated to us, from Asim ibn Abi al-Najud, from Abu Wa’il, from Masruq, from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to Yemen and instructed me to collect one-tenth from what is watered by rain or grown as ba‘l, and half of one-tenth from what is irrigated by water-lifting devices.
Yahya ibn Adam said: ‘Ba‘l, athari, and adhya are what is watered by rainwater. Athari is what is planted for clouds and rain alone; it receives nothing but rainwater. Ba‘l consists of grapevines whose roots have reached water beneath the ground, so they need no irrigation; they can go five or six years without irrigation. This is ba‘l. A flood is the water of a valley when it flows. Ghayl is a lesser flow than a flood.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives its own explanations for ba‘l, athari, and adhya. The final definition of ghayl is translated close to the wording ‘a flow less than a flow.’
وَالْغَيْلُ سَيْلٌ دُونَ سَيْلٍ .
The source defines ghayl only as ‘a flow less than a flow,’ leaving the exact hydrological distinction unstated.
Should ghayl remain as a transliterated term, or is there a more precise English term for the source’s definition?
Chapter 18
خَرْصِ النَّخْلِ وَالْعِنَبِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim al-Dimashqi and al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar narrated to us; they said: Ibn Nafi‘ narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Salih al-Tammar narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyab, from Attab ibn Asid, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send someone to the people to estimate their vineyards and fruit crops.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The verb kharasa refers to estimating the crop; the source does not specify the method.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Musa ibn Marwan al-Raqqi narrated to us; Umar ibn Ayyub narrated to us, from Ja‘far ibn Burqan, from Maymun ibn Mihran, from Miqsam, from Ibn Abbas, that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Khaybar, he stipulated for them that the land and all the yellow and white belonged to him—that is, gold and silver.
The people of Khaybar said to him, ‘We know the land better, so give it to us to work, on the condition that half the produce be ours and half yours.’ It is related that he granted them that arrangement. When the time came to harvest the date palms, he sent Ibn Rawahah to them. He estimated the palms—what the people of Medina call khars—and said, ‘This much for these.’
They said, ‘You have assessed too much against us, Ibn Rawahah.’ He said, ‘Then I will estimate the palms and give you half of what I said.’ They said, ‘This is justice, and by it the heavens and earth stand.’ They then said, ‘We are content to accept what you have said.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source itself explains ‘yellow and white’ as gold and silver, and identifies the crop estimation as khars.
فَقَالَ فَأَنَا أَحْزُرُ النَّخْلَ وَأُعْطِيكُمْ نِصْفَ الَّذِي قُلْتُ .
The phrase ‘I will estimate the palms and give you half of what I said’ does not specify whether the half refers to the estimated produce or another stated amount.
What quantity does ‘half of what I said’ refer to in Ibn Rawahah’s reply?
Chapter 19
النَّهْىِ أَنْ يُخْرِجَ فِي الصَّدَقَةِ شَرَّ مَالِهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bishr Bakr ibn Khalaf narrated to us; Yahya ibn Sa‘id narrated to us, from Abd al-Hamid ibn Ja‘far; Salih ibn Abi Arib narrated to me, from Kathir ibn Murrah al-Hadrami, from Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja‘i, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out while a man had hung up a bunch of dates—or a date cluster—and he had a stick in his hand. He began prodding it with the stick, shaking the cluster, and saying: ‘If the owner of this charity had wished, he could have given something better than it. The owner of this charity will eat inferior dates on the Day of Resurrection.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives two terms for the date cluster and calls the low-grade dates hashaf; the translation preserves the image without explaining its consequence.
قَالَ خَرَجَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَقَدْ عَلَّقَ رَجُلٌ قِنَاءً أَوْ قِنْوًا وَبِيَدِهِ عَصًا فَجَعَلَ يَطْعَنُ بِذَلِكَ يُدَقْدِقُ فِي ذَلِكَ الْقِنْوِ وَيَقُولُ " لَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّ هَذِهِ الصَّدَقَةِ تَصَدَّقَ بِأَطْيَبَ مِنْهَا إِنَّ رَبَّ هَذِهِ الصَّدَقَةِ يَأْكُلُ الْحَشَفَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ " .
The warning that the owner of the charity ‘will eat hashaf’ on the Day of Resurrection is stated without explaining whether it is literal or figurative.
Should ‘eat inferior dates’ remain literal, or is a figurative consequence intended?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Sa‘id al-Qattan narrated to us; Amr ibn Muhammad al-Anqazi narrated to us; Asbat ibn Nasr narrated to us, from al-Suddi, from Adi ibn Thabit, from al-Bara ibn Azib, concerning His words, Glorified is He: ‘And from what We have brought forth for you from the earth… Do not deliberately select the bad of it to spend…’ He said: This was revealed concerning the Ansar. At the date-palm harvest, the Ansar would bring bunches of unripe dates from their orchards and hang them on a rope between two pillars in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so that the poor among the Emigrants could eat from them. One of them would deliberately bring a bunch of low-grade dates and put it there, thinking it would pass among the many bunches being hung. Then the words were revealed concerning those who did that: ‘Do not deliberately select the bad of it to spend.’ He says: Do not deliberately choose the low-grade dates from it to give in charity. ‘You would not take it unless you overlooked its defects.’ He says: If it were given to you as a gift, you would accept it only reluctantly, out of embarrassment toward its giver and annoyance that he had sent you something you had no need of. Know that Allah has no need of your charitable gifts.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source uses two date terms: busr for unripe dates and hashaf for low-grade dates. The Qur’anic quotations are partial, as they are in the source.