Zakat

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Sulayman ibnYasar that the people of Syria said to Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, "Takezakat from our horses and slaves," and he refused. Then he wrote toUmar ibn al-Khattab and he (also) refused. Again they talked to himand again he wrote to Umar, and Umar wrote back to him saying, "Ifthey want, take it from them and (then) give it back to them and givetheir slaves provision."

Malik said, "What he means, mayAllah have mercy upon him, by the words 'and give it back to them' is,'to their poor.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Amribn Hazim said, "A message came from Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz to my fatherwhen he was in Mina telling him not to take zakat from either honey orhorses."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "Iasked Said ibn al-Musayyab about zakat on work-horses, and he said,'Is there any zakat on horses ?' "

Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibn Shihab said, "I haveheard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, took jizya from the magians of Bahrain, that Umar ibn al-Khattab took it from the magians of Persia and that Uthman ibn Affantook it from the Berbers."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Jafar ibn Muhammad ibn Alifrom his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab mentioned the magians andsaid, "I do not know what to do about them." Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awfsaid, "I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, say, 'Follow the same sunna with themthat you follow with the people of the Book . ' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Aslam, the mawla ofUmar ibn al-Khattab, that Umar ibn al-Khattab imposed a jizya tax offour dinars on those living where gold was the currency, and fortydirhams on those living where silver was the currency. In addition,they had to provide for the muslims and receive them as guests forthree days.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from hisfather that he said to Umar ibn al-Khattab, "There is a blind she-camel behind the house,'' soUmar said, "Hand it over to a household sothat they can make (some) use of it." He said, "But she is blind."Umar replied, "Then put it in a line with other camels." He said, "Howwill it be able to eat from the ground?" Umar asked, "Is it from thelivestock of the jizya or the zakat?" and Aslam replied, "From thelivestock of the jizya." Umar said, "By AIIah, you wish to eat it."Aslam said, "It has the brand of the jizya on it." So Umar ordered itto be slaughtered. He had nine platters, and on each of the plattershe put some of every fruit and delicacy that there was and then sentthem to the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, and the one he sent to his daughter Hafsa was the last of themall, and if there was any deficiency in any of them it was in Hafsa'sportion.

"He put meat from the slaughtered animal on theplatters and sent them to the wives of the Prophet, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, and he ordered what was left of the meat ofthe slaughtered animal to be prepared. Then he invited the Muhajirunand the Ansar to eat it."

Malik said, "I do not think thatlivestock should be taken from people who pay the jizya except asjizya."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibnAbd al-Aziz wrote to his governors telling them to relieve any peoplewho payed the jizya from paying the jizya if they became muslims.

Malik said, "The sunna is that there is no jizya due from women orchildren of people of the Book, and that jizya is only taken from menwho have reached puberty. The people of dhimma and the magians do nothave to pay any zakat on their palms or their vines or their crops ortheir livestock. This is because zakat is imposed on the muslims topurify them and to be given back to their poor, whereas jizya isimposed on the people of the Book to humble them. As long as they arein the country they have agreed to live in, they do not have to payanything on their property except the jizya. If, however, they tradein muslim countries, coming and going in them, a tenth is taken fromwhat they invest in such trade. This is because jizya is only imposedon them on conditions, which they have agreed on, namely that theywill remain in their own countries, and that war will be waged forthem on any enemy of theirs, and that if they then leave that land togo anywhere else to do business they will haveto pay a tenth. Whoeveramong them does business with the people of Egypt, and then goes toSyria, and then does business with the people of Syria and then goesto Iraq and does business with them and then goes on to Madina, orYemen, or other similar places, has to pay a tenth.

People ofthe Book and magians do not have to pay any zakat on any of theirproperty, livestock, produce or crops. The sunna still continues likethat. They remain in the deen they were in, and they continue to dowhat they used to do. If in any one year they frequently come and goin muslim countries then they have to pay a tenth every time they doso, since that is outside what they have agreed upon, and not one ofthe conditions stipulated for them. This is what I have seen thepeople of knowledge of our city doing."

Yahya related to me from Ibn Shihab from Salim ibn Abdullah fromhis father that Umar ibn al-Khattab used to take a twentieth from thecereals and olive oil of the Nabatean christians, intending by that toincrease the cargo to Madina. He would take a tenth from pulses.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that as-Sa'ib ibnYazid said, "As a young man I used to work with Abdullah ibn Utba ibnMasud in the market of Madina in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab andwe used to take a tenth from the Nabateans."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihab whyUmar ibn al Khattab used to take a tenth from the Nabateans, and IbnShihab replied, "It used to be taken from them in the jahiliyya, andUmar imposed it on them."

Yahya related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam that his father said thathe had heard Umar ibn al-Khattab say, "I once gave a noble horse tocarry somebody in the way of Allah, and the man neglected it. I wishedto buy it back from him and I thought that he would sell it cheaply. Iasked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,about it and he said, 'Do not buy it, even if he gives it to you forone dirham, for someone who takes back his sadaqa is like a dogswallowing its own vomit.' "

Yahya said that Malik was asked about whether a man who gave some sadaqa, and then found it being offered back to him for sale by some one other than the man to whom he had given it, could buy it or not, and he said, "I prefer that he leaves it."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarused to pay the zakat al-fitr for those slaves of his that were atWadi'l-Qura and Khaybar.

Yahya related to me that Malik said,"The best that I have heard about the zakat al-fitr is that a man hasto pay for every person that he is responsible for supporting and whomhe must support. He has to pay forall his mukatabs, his mudabbars, andhis ordinary slaves, whether they are present or absent, as long asthey are muslim, and whether or not they are fortrade. However, hedoes not have to pay zakat on any of them that are not muslim."

Malik said, concerning a runaway slave, "I think that his mastershould pay the zakat fo rhim whether or not he knows where he is, ifit has not been long since the slave ran away and his master hopesthat he is still alive and will return. If it has been a long timesince he ran away and his master has despaired of him returning then Ido not think that he should pay zakat for him.'

Malik said,"The zakat al-fitr has to be paid by people living in the desert (i.e.nomadic people) just as it has to be paid by people living in villages(i.e. settled people), because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, made the zakat al-fitr at the end of Ramadanobligatory on every muslim, whether freeman or slave, male or female."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umarthat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,made the zakat of breaking the fast at the end of Ramadan obligatoryon every muslim, whether freeman or slave, male or female, andstipulated it as a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from lyad ibnAbdullah ibn Sad ibn Abi Sarh al-Amiri that he had heard Abu Said al-Khudri say, "We used to pay the zakat al-fitr with a sa of wheat, or asa of barley, or a sa of dates, or a sa of dried sour milk, or a sa ofraisins, using the sa of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace . "

Maliksaid, "Payment of all types of kaffara, of zakat al-fitr and of the zakat on grains for which a tenth or a twentieth is due, is made using the smaller mudd, which is the mudd of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, except in the case of dhihar divorce, when the kaffara is paid using the mudd of Hisham, which is the larger mudd."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarused to send the zakat al-fitr to the one with whom it was collectedtogether two or three days before the day of breaking the fast.

Yahya related to me that Malik had seen that the people ofknowledge used to like to pay the zakat al-fitr after dawn had brokenon the day of the Fitr before they went to the place of prayer.

Malik said, "There is leeway in this, if Allah wills, in that itcan be paid either before setting out (for the prayer) on the day ofFitr or afterwards."

Yahya related to me that Malik said, "A man does not have to payzakat for the slaves of his slaves, or for some one employed by him,or for his wife's slaves, except for anyone who serves him and whoseservices are indispensable to him, in which case he must pay zakat. Hedoes not have to pay zakat for any of his slaves that are kafir andhave not become muslim, whether they be for trade or otherwise."