The Book on Zakat

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Hannad ibn al-Sari al-Tamimi al-Kufi told us: Abu Muawiyah told us, from al-Amash, from al-Marur ibn Suwayd, from Abu Dharr, who said: I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was sitting in the shade of the Kaabah. When he saw me approaching, he said: “By the Lord of the Kaabah, they are the losers on the Day of Resurrection.” I wondered whether something had been revealed about me and asked: Who are they, may my father and mother be your ransom? The Messenger of Allah replied: “They are those with the most wealth, except those who give like this, like this, and like this,” and he gestured in front of him, to his right, and to his left. Then he said: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, no man dies leaving camels or cattle on which he has not paid zakah without them coming to him on the Day of Resurrection, larger and fatter than they were. They will trample him with their hooves and gore him with their horns. Whenever the last one has passed, the first will return to him, until judgment is passed among the people.” A similar report is related from Abu Hurayrah. It is related from Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: The one who withholds charity is cursed. Reports on this subject are also related from Qabisah ibn Hulb, from his father; Jabir ibn Abdullah; and Abdullah ibn Masud. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Dharr is hasan sahih. Abu Dharr was named Jundub ibn al-Sakan, and it is also said that he was Ibn Junadah. Abdullah ibn Munir narrated from Ubaydullah ibn Musa, from Sufyan al-Thawri, from Hakim ibn al-Daylam, from al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim, who said: “The wealthy are those who possess ten thousand.” Abdullah ibn Munir was a righteous man from Marw.

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Umar ibn Hafs al-Shaybani al-Basri told us: Abdullah ibn Wahb informed us: Amr ibn al-Harith informed us, from Darraj, from Ibn Hujayrah, namely Abd al-Rahman ibn Hujayrah al-Misri, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “When you have paid the zakah on your wealth, you have discharged what is due from you.” Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan gharib. It is narrated through other routes from the Prophet that he mentioned zakah, and a man asked: Messenger of Allah, is anything else required of me? He replied: “No, unless you do something voluntary.”

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Muhammad ibn Ismail told us: Ali ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Kufi told us: Sulayman ibn al-Mughirah told us, from Thabit, from Anas, who said: We used to hope that an intelligent Bedouin would come and ask the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, questions while we were with him. As we were sitting there, a Bedouin came and knelt before the Prophet. He said: Muhammad, your messenger came to us and claimed that you claim Allah sent you. The Prophet said: “Yes.” The man said: By the One who raised the sky, spread out the earth, and set up the mountains, did Allah send you? The Prophet said: “Yes.” The man said: Your messenger claimed that you say we owe five prayers each day and night. The Prophet said: “Yes.” The man asked: By the One who sent you, did Allah command you to do this? The Prophet said: “Yes.” The man said: Your messenger claimed that you say we owe a month of fasting each year. The Prophet said: “He spoke the truth.” The man asked: By the One who sent you, did Allah command you to do this? The Prophet said: “Yes.” The man said: Your messenger claimed that you say we owe zakah on our wealth. The Prophet said: “He spoke the truth.” The man asked: By the One who sent you, did Allah command you to do this? The Prophet said: “Yes.” The man said: Your messenger claimed that you say Hajj to the House is required of whoever is able to make the journey. The Prophet said: “Yes.” The man asked: By the One who sent you, did Allah command you to do this? The Prophet said: “Yes.” Then he said: By the One who sent you with the truth, I will neither leave out any of these duties nor go beyond them. Then he sprang up. The Prophet said: “If the Bedouin spoke truthfully, he will enter Paradise.” Abu Isa said: This hadith from Anas is hasan gharib through this route, and it is also narrated through other routes from Anas from the Prophet. I heard Muhammad ibn Ismail say that some scholars derived from this hadith that reciting a text to a scholar for confirmation is valid, just like hearing it from the scholar. They cited the fact that the Bedouin recited his understanding to the Prophet, and the Prophet confirmed it.

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Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Shawarib told us: Abu Awanah told us, from Abu Ishaq, from Asim ibn Damrah, from Ali, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I have exempted you from zakah on horses and enslaved people. So pay zakah on silver currency: one dirham for every forty dirhams. There is nothing due on one hundred and ninety dirhams; when it reaches two hundred, five dirhams are due.” Reports on this subject are also related from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Amr ibn Hazm. Abu Isa said: Al-Amash, Abu Awanah, and others narrated this hadith from Abu Ishaq, from Asim ibn Damrah, from Ali. Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn Uyaynah, and more than one other narrator narrated it from Abu Ishaq, from al-Harith, from Ali. I asked Muhammad about this hadith, and he said: Both versions are sound according to me; it is possible that it was narrated from Abu Ishaq through both routes.

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Ziyad ibn Ayyub al-Baghdadi, Ibrahim ibn Abdullah al-Harawi, and Muhammad ibn Kamil al-Marwazi told us, with one meaning, all saying: Abbad ibn al-Awwam told us, from Sufyan ibn Husayn, from al-Zuhri, from Salim, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, wrote down the rules of charity but did not send the document to his collectors before he died. He kept it with his sword. After his death, Abu Bakr followed it until he died, and Umar followed it until he died. It stated: “For every five camels, one sheep is due; for ten, two sheep; for fifteen, three sheep; for twenty, four sheep. For twenty-five through thirty-five, one one-year-old she-camel; above that through forty-five, one two-year-old she-camel; above that through sixty, one three-year-old she-camel; above that through seventy-five, one four-year-old she-camel; above that through ninety, two two-year-old she-camels; above that through one hundred and twenty, two three-year-old she-camels. Above one hundred and twenty, for every fifty camels one three-year-old she-camel is due, and for every forty one two-year-old she-camel. For sheep, one is due for every forty through one hundred and twenty. Above that, two are due through two hundred; above that, three are due through three hundred. Above three hundred sheep, one is due for every hundred. Nothing further is due until the flock reaches four hundred. Do not combine separate herds or separate a combined herd to avoid paying charity. When two partners share livestock, they settle the amount between themselves equally. An old animal or one with a defect is not to be taken as charity.” Al-Zuhri said: When the charity collector arrives, he divides the sheep into three groups: the best, the middle, and the worst, and takes from the middle group. Al-Zuhri did not mention cattle. Reports on this subject are also related from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Bahz ibn Hakim from his father from his grandfather, Abu Dharr, and Anas. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Umar is hasan. Most jurists acted upon it. Yunus ibn Yazid and more than one other narrator transmitted this hadith from al-Zuhri, from Salim, without attributing it to the Prophet; only Sufyan ibn Husayn attributed it to him.

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Muhammad ibn Ubayd al-Muharibi and Abu Said al-Ashajj told us, both saying: Abd al-Salam ibn Harb told us, from Khusayf, from Abu Ubaydah, from Abdullah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “For every thirty cattle, a one-year-old calf is due, male or female; and for every forty, a two-year-old cow is due.” A report on this subject is also related from Muadh ibn Jabal. Abu Isa said: Abd al-Salam ibn Harb narrated this from Khusayf, and Abd al-Salam is trustworthy and precise. Sharik narrated this hadith from Khusayf, from Abu Ubaydah, from his mother, from Abdullah. Abu Ubaydah ibn Abdullah did not hear directly from Abdullah.

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Mahmud ibn Ghaylan told us: Abd al-Razzaq informed us: Sufyan told us, from al-Amash, from Abu Wail, from Masruq, from Muadh ibn Jabal, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sent me to Yemen and instructed me to collect a one-year-old calf, male or female, for every thirty cattle; a two-year-old cow for every forty; and one dinar, or its value in Maafir cloth, from every adult male. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan. Some narrators transmitted it from Sufyan, from al-Amash, from Abu Wail, from Masruq, as a report from the Prophet saying that he sent Muadh to Yemen and instructed him to collect this. This latter version is sounder.

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Muhammad ibn Bashshar told us: Muhammad ibn Jafar told us: Shubah told us, from Amr ibn Murrah, who said: I asked Abu Ubaydah ibn Abdullah, “Do you remember anything from Abdullah?” He replied: “No.”

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Abu Kurayb told us: Waki told us: Zakariyya ibn Ishaq al-Makki told us: Yahya ibn Abdullah ibn Sayfi told us, from Abu Mabad, from Ibn Abbas, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent Muadh to Yemen and said to him: “You are going to a people who received Scripture, so call them to testify that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah. If they obey you in this, inform them that Allah has made five prayers each day and night obligatory upon them. If they obey you in this, inform them that Allah has made charity obligatory upon their wealth, to be taken from their rich and returned to their poor. If they obey you in this, beware of taking the best of their wealth, and beware of the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.” A report on this subject is also related from al-Sunabihi. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Abbas is hasan sahih. Abu Mabad, the freedman of Ibn Abbas, was named Nafidh.

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Qutaybah told us: Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad told us, from Amr ibn Yahya al-Mazini, from his father, from Abu Said al-Khudri, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “There is no charity due on fewer than five camels, fewer than five awaq of silver, or fewer than five awsuq of produce.” Reports on this subject are also related from Abu Hurayrah, Ibn Umar, Jabir, and Abdullah ibn Amr.

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Muhammad ibn Bashshar told us: Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi told us: Sufyan, Shubah, and Malik ibn Anas told us, from Amr ibn Yahya, from his father, from Abu Said, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a report similar to that of Abd al-Aziz, from Amr ibn Yahya. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Said is hasan sahih, and it is narrated through more than one route from him. Scholars acted upon it: no charity is due on less than five awsuq. One wasq is sixty saa; five awsuq equal three hundred saa. The Prophetic saa is five and one-third ratls, while the saa used by the people of Kufa is eight ratls. No charity is due on less than five awaq of silver. One uqiyyah is forty dirhams, so five awaq equal two hundred dirhams. No charity is due on fewer than five camels, meaning fewer than five camels. Once the herd reaches twenty-five camels, one one-year-old she-camel is due; below twenty-five, one sheep is due for every five camels.

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Abu Kurayb Muhammad ibn al-Ala and Mahmud ibn Ghaylan told us, both saying: Waki told us, from Sufyan and Shubah, 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 horse or his enslaved person.” Reports on this subject are also related from Ali and Abdullah ibn Amr. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abu Hurayrah is hasan sahih. Scholars acted upon it: no charity is due on freely grazing horses, nor on enslaved people kept for service, unless they are held for trade. If they are held for trade, zakah is due on their value once a year has passed.

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Amr ibn Abi Salamah al-Tinnisi told us, from Sadaqah ibn Abdullah, from Musa ibn Yasar, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “For every ten waterskins of honey, one waterskin is due.” Reports on this subject are also related from Abu Hurayrah, Abu Sayyarah al-Mutii, and Abdullah ibn Amr. Abu Isa said: There is criticism of the chain of the hadith of Ibn Umar, and nothing significant is soundly established from the Prophet on this subject. Most scholars acted upon this ruling, as did Ahmad and Ishaq. Some scholars said no charity is due on honey. Sadaqah ibn Abdullah was not a precise memorizer, and others contradicted him in narrating this hadith from Nafi.

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Muhammad ibn Bashshar told us: Abd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi told us: Ubaydullah ibn Umar told us, from Nafi, who said: Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz asked me about charity on honey. I replied: We have no honey from which to give charity, but al-Mughirah ibn Hakim informed us that he said no charity is due on honey. Umar said: “He is trustworthy and approved.” Then he wrote to the people that it should be waived for them.

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Yahya ibn Musa told us: Harun ibn Salih al-Talhi al-Madani told us: Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam told us, from his father, from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever acquires wealth, no zakah is due on it until a year has passed while it is in his possession.” A report on this subject is also related from Sarra bint Nabhan al-Ghanawiyyah.

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Muhammad ibn Bashshar told us: Abd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi told us: Ayyub told us, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, who said: Whoever acquires wealth, no zakah is due on it until a year has passed while it is in his possession. Abu Isa said: This is sounder than the hadith of Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam. Ayyub, Ubaydullah ibn Umar, and more than one other narrator narrated it from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, as a statement of Ibn Umar. Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam is weak in hadith; Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ali ibn al-Madini, and other hadith scholars considered him weak, and he makes many mistakes. It is narrated from more than one Companion of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that no zakah is due on newly acquired wealth until a year has passed. This is the view of Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq. Some scholars said that if a person already has wealth on which zakah is due, zakah is due on newly acquired wealth too. If he has no such wealth other than the newly acquired amount, zakah is not due on it until a year has passed. If he acquires wealth before the year on his existing wealth is complete, he pays zakah on the new wealth together with the wealth already subject to zakah. This is the view of Sufyan al-Thawri and the scholars of Kufa.

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Yahya ibn Aktham told us: Jarir told us, from Qabus ibn Abi Zabyan, from his father, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Two qiblahs cannot coexist in one land, and there is no jizyah upon Muslims.”

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Abu Kurayb told us: Jarir told us, from Qabus, with this chain, a report similar to it. Reports on this subject are also related from Said ibn Zayd and the grandfather of Harb ibn Ubaydullah al-Thaqafi. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Abbas is also narrated from Qabus ibn Abi Zabyan, from his father, from the Prophet, as a mursal report. Most scholars acted upon this: when a Christian accepts Islam, the personal jizyah tax is waived for him. The statement of the Prophet, “There is no tithe on Muslims,” refers to the personal jizyah tax. Another hadith explains this, saying: “The tithe is only upon Jews and Christians; there is no tithe upon Muslims.”

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Hannad told us: Abu Muawiyah told us, from al-Amash, from Abu Wail, from Amr ibn al-Harith ibn al-Mustaliq, from the nephew of Zaynab, the wife of Abdullah, from Zaynab, the wife of Abdullah ibn Masud, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, addressed us and said: “Women, give charity, even from your jewelry, for you will be the most numerous of the inhabitants of Hell on the Day of Resurrection.”

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Mahmud ibn Ghaylan told us: Abu Dawud told us, from Shubah, from al-Amash, who said: I heard Abu Wail narrate from Amr ibn al-Harith, the nephew of Zaynab, the wife of Abdullah, from Zaynab, the wife of Abdullah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a report similar to it. Abu Isa said: This is sounder than the hadith of Abu Muawiyah. Abu Muawiyah made a mistake in his narration, saying it was from Amr ibn al-Harith, from the nephew of Zaynab. The correct chain is from Amr ibn al-Harith, who was the nephew of Zaynab. It is also narrated from Amr ibn Shuaib, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet, that he ruled that zakah is due on jewelry. There is criticism of the chain of that hadith. Scholars differed on this matter. Some scholars among the Companions of the Prophet and the Successors held that zakah is due on jewelry made of gold or silver. This is the view of Sufyan al-Thawri and Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak. Some Companions of the Prophet, including Ibn Umar, Aishah, Jabir ibn Abdullah, and Anas ibn Malik, said that no zakah is due on jewelry. This view is also narrated from some Successor jurists and is the view of Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq.