33.0 CHAPTER ZAKAT ON LIVESTOCK
“Chapter: Zakat on livestock”: There are four types of wealth upon which zakat is wajib:
First: Gold and silver and that which serves a similar purpose like paper currency.
Second: Livestock. They are camels, cows and sheep.
Third: Tradable commodities.
Fourth: Produce from the land of grains and fruits.
The author begins with livestock, that is camels, cows and sheep because it was the wealth commonly possessed by the Arabs, though cows were an exception. However, the Prophet(pbuh) informed Mu’adh of zakat pertaining to cows when he was dispatched to Yemen. (Reported by Ahmad (5/230, 233), Abu Dawud (1576), al-Tirmidhi (623) and al-Nasa’i (5/25,26) from the narration of Mu’adh.) This was because cows were commonly possessed by those living in Yemen.
Zakat is wajib upon camels, cows and sheep if it was let to graze for a year or the better part of it.
“Zakat is wajib upon camels, cows and sheep if it was let to graze for a year or the better part of it”: The author begins with the zakat on camels. Zakat is wajib on livestock specifically. They are camels, cows and sheep. These are livestock whose meat and milk are permitted for consumption. Allah says: {Lawful for you are the animals of grazing livestock.} (Al-Ma’idah: 1)
Zakat is not wajib on the rest of the livestock like donkeys, horses and mules unless they are traded by being bought and sold. In this case, they are classified as a tradeable commodity.
Zakat becomes wajib on livestock under two conditions:
First: When nisab is attained.
Second: When the livestock are left to graze for a year or most part of it. If the livestock are kept in the pen or stalls half a year or more, then zakat is not wajib on them as they are not left to graze.
A one-year-old she-camel (called bint mukhadin) is given as zakat for owning twenty-five camels. Anything less than twenty-five, one gives a sheep as zakat for every five camels. If one owns thirty-six camels, then a two-year-old she-camel (called bint labun) is given as zakat. For every forty-six camels, a three-year-old she-camel (called hiqqah) is given as zakat. If the number reaches sixty-one camels, then a four-year-old she-camel (called jadha’h) is given. When the number reaches seventy-six, two she-camels in their second year (bint labun) are given as zakat. If there are ninety-one camels, then two she-camels in their third year (hiqqah) are given as zakat. If there are one hundred and twenty-one camels, then the zakat is three she-camels in their second year. Above this number, a two-year-old she-camel is given for every subsequent forty camels and a three-year-old she-camel for every subsequent fifty camels.
“A one-year-old she-camel (called bint mukhadin) is given as zakat for owning twenty-five camels. Anything less than twenty-five, one gives a sheep as zakat for every five camels”: The lowest nisab for camels is five and the zakat due is a sheep. For ten camels the zakat due is two sheep and so on. Once it reaches twenty-five camels, the zakat shifts from sheep to camels. A one-year-old she-camel is given away as zakat. This type of camel is called bint mukhad as her mother is probably pregnant with her sister at this stage. The word mukhad means pregnant.
“If one owns thirty-six camels, then a two-year-old she-camel (called bint labun) is given as zakat”-. At this stage, the mother has already given birth to the camel she was pregnant with and so she can be milked. The two-year-old she-camel is thus called bint labun. Laban means milk.
“For every forty-six camels, a three-year-old she-camel (called hiqqah) is given as zakat”‘. She is called al-hiqqatun. At this age, she is able to mate and is strong enough to carry loads and be ridden.
“If the number reaches sixty-one camels, then a four-year-old she-camel (called jadha’h) is given”: At this age camels will start losing their teeth.
“When the number reaches seventy-six, two she-camels in their second year {bint labun) are given as zakat”: This is self-explanatory.
“If there are ninety-one camels, then two she-camels in their third year (hiqqah) are given as zakat”-. We have described this type of she-camel earlier.
“If there are one hundred and twenty-one camels, then the zakat is three she-camels in their second year”: After ninety-one camels, there is no change in zakat until the number gets to one hundred and twenty-one. Three bint labun are given as zakat at this point.
“Above this number, a two-year-old she-camel is given for every subsequent forty camels and a three-year-old she-camel for every subsequent fifty camels”: If we say a person has two hundred camels. Based on this calculation he must pay in zakat four she-camels in their third year.
SECTION
It is wajib to give as zakat a male or female calf that is one year old for every thirty cows and for every forty cows a two-year-old cow. For sixty cows, two male or female calves in their first year are given as zakat. If the number of cows surpasses sixty, then for every thirty cows, a one-year-old male calf and for every forty cows, a two-year-old cow is given. It is permissible to give in zakat a male calf and to give an ibn labun instead of a bint mukhadin. Males are given as zakat if the nisab consists of only males.
“Section”: We have mentioned that the Arabs did not mostly possess cows. The people of Yemen reared cows. When we mention Arabs, we refer to the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula. These Arabs did not know how to capitalize on cow farming and concentrated their efforts on camel farming. Most Arabs were like that. When the Prophet(pbuh) sent Mu’adh to Yemen, he explained to Mu’adh the zakat obligation upon cows (See earlier footnote.) as the Yemenis were cow farmers.
“It is wajib to give as zakat a male or female calf that is one year old for every thirty cows and for every forty cows a two-year-old cow. For sixty cows, two male or female calves in their first year are given as zakat. If the number of cows surpasses sixty, then for every thirty cows, a one-year-old male calf and for every forty cows, a two-year-old cow is given”: A male calf which is one year old is known as al-tabi and a female calf is al-tabi’ah. They are called so because they follow the mother wherever she goes. Either one can be given as zakat.
If the number of cows surpasses sixty, a standard zakat is given. That is, for every thirty cows, a one-year-old male calf and for every forty cows a cow that is two years old.
[There are three situations when a male animal is given as zakat:]
Firstly: “It is permissible to give in zakat a male calf.” Either a male or female calf may be given as zakat.
Secondly: “To give an ibn labun instead of a bint mukhadin.” This is acceptable when the latter is not available. The male camel that is two-year-old is bigger in size. Furthermore, the male camel i.e., ibn labun is older and bigger than the female camel mentioned here. Ibn labun is two years old whereas bint mukhadin can be as young as one year old.
Thirdly: ‘‘Males are given as zakat if a person only possesses males.” If a person has only male camels, the sheep he has are all male, then he gives male animals as zakat. If he only has bulls, then a year-old male calf or a two-year-old bull is given as prescribed.
SECTION
It is wajib to give one sheep for every forty sheep. When the number of sheep reaches one hundred and twenty-one, two sheep are given. When it reaches two hundred and one, three sheep are given as zakat. When that number is surpassed, one sheep is given for every hundred sheep.
“Section”: After explaining the zakat obligation on camels and cows, the author begins to elaborate on the zakat on sheep.
“It is wajib to give one sheep for every forty sheep”: According to the command of the Prophet(pbuh) who said, “One sheep for every forty.” (Reported by Abu Dawud (1568), al-Tirmidhi (621) and Ibn Majah (1805) from the narration of Abdullah ibn ‘Umar.)
“When the number of sheep reaches one hundred and twenty-one, two sheep are given”: There is no zakat after forty until one hundred and twenty-one sheep are possessed. Two sheep are given at this number. The gap between forty and one hundred and twenty sheep where zakat is not wajib is known as al-waqas. Zakat is payable when the number of sheep reaches one hundred and twenty-one. If a person has eighty sheep, then he pays one sheep as zakat. The same applies if he has one hundred sheep, one hundred and ten sheep or one hundred and twenty sheep. When he has one more than this, he pays two sheep as zakat.
“When it reaches two hundred and one, three sheep are given as zakat”: This is the maximum nisab for sheep. There is no zakat payable after one hundred and twenty-one sheep until the number reaches two hundred and one. Zakat payable for this number is three sheep. If the number surpasses this, then a fixed rate of one sheep for every hundred sheep is payable as zakat. So, for example if he has three hundred sheep, he pays three sheep and for four hundred sheep he pays four sheep as zakat and so forth.
In a partnership two separate possessions are deemed as one.
“In a partnership”: I.e., of livestock, two separate possessions are considered as one. Partnership is divided into two types as explained by the scholars: (i) the determinate partnership (ii) and the mixed partnership.
The determinate partnership is where each partner knows what he owns.
The mixed partnership is where the possessions of each partner are not known and are mixed together.
Both kinds of partnership render the possessions as a single form of wealth. For example, a man has thirty-nine sheep and another has one sheep. Zakat is payable if they enter into a partnership as the total number of sheep now is forty. Hence one sheep should be paid as zakat. However, each partner pays proportionate to his share of the partnership. The sheep owned by each of the two men would not have been liable for zakat had they not entered into a partnership. Only when they decided to form a partnership did the number of sheep become forty and so zakat is wajib based on the total number of sheep.
Partnership has its disadvantages, as in the case illustrated above, and it has advantages. If two men had forty sheep each and they enter into a partnership, both of them need only pay one sheep as zakat. If they were individual owners, they each would have to pay a sheep as zakat.
The mixed partnership has three conditions:
First: They are all kept in the same yard or pen where the sheep live together.
Second: They are milked in the same yard or stall where they are milked together.
Third: They are herded on the same land where they roam and graze from the same pasture. The herdsmen should also be the same ones looking after all of the sheep.
All these conditions must be present to validate the partnership.
By Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan
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