SECTION TWO ZAKATABLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

SECTION TWO ZAKATABLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

In this section I will review the different scholarly opinions and then conclude with a comparison and reflection to select the best among them.

1. The view that zakah is obligated only on four food items

'Abd Allah bin 'Umar and a few Followers consider zakah obligatory only on wheat, barley, date, and raisin . This is also reported from Musa bin Talhah, al Hasan, Ibn Sirin,

Zakah on Agriculture

al Hasan bin Salih, Ibn Abi Laila, Ibn al Mubarak, Abu 'Ubaid, and a report from Ahmad. 23 Ibrahim adds a fifth item, corn. 24 They provide the following documents in support of their view:

A. Ibn Majah and al Daraqutni report from Amr bin Shu'aib from his father from his grandfather that "The Messenger of God (p) only enacted zakah on wheat, barley, date,

and raisin." Ibn Majah's version adds "corn." 25

B. A report narrated by Abu Burdah from Abu Musa and Mu'adh that the Messenger (p) sent them to Yemen to teach people and ordered them not to take sadaqah except from these four foods - wheat, barley, date, and raisin. 26

Moreover, there is no text or known ijma that imposes zakah on other than these four products. Other crops are not as common as these four and must not be considered similar to them.

2. The view that imposes zakah on edible preservable items

Malik and al Shafi'i consider edibility and preservability as the necessary conditions for zakatability of agricultural products. Consequently, wheat, barley, corn, grain, and rice are all zakatable. By "edibility" they mean that the item should be a major foodstuff and not a secondary one, an item that people normally eat for subsistence. Consequently, almond, walnut, and pistachio are not zakatable although they can be stored, while apples pomegranates, pears, peaches, and plums are also not zakatable because they cannot be dried and stored. Malikites differ on the zakatability of figs. Malik himself is reported to have excluded figs, plums, pomegranates and all fruits from

zakah, 27 while some of his disciples consider figs zakatable because the two conditions of edibility and storability are fulfilled. 28 Al Khurashi counts twenty zakatable food items which include garbanzo beans, lentil, wheat, barley, rice, dates, olives, raisin, sesame, and others. 29

Al Qurtubi says that al Shafi'i believes in no obligatory zakah on fruits except dates and grapes, because the Prophet (p) took zakah on these two products, as primary preservable foods in Hijaz . On the other hand, walnuts and almonds are not zakatable although they are non-perishable, because they were not primary foodstuff in Hijaz, but were used only as fruits. Al Shafi'i continues, "olives are also not zakatable because

they are associated with pomegranates in a verse, "and olive and pomegranate" 30 and since the pomegranate is not zakatable, neither must the olive be."

There is, however another report from al Shafi'i that olives are zakatable. 31 Which is the opinion of Malik too. 32 Al Qurtubi continues, "They both agree that pomegranates are not zakatable, while according to the verse quoted at the beginning of this chapter,

pomegranates must be zakatable." 33

Their argument is based on two points. The first is a saying narrated by Mu'adh which reads, "Cucumbers, watermelons, pomegranates, sugarcane , and vegetables are

Fiqh al Zakah (Vol. I), Dr. Yusuf al Qardawi

exempt : the Messenger of God (p) exempted them", reported by al Baihaqi in al Sunnan Al Kubra. He also reports a few other sayings and comments, "All these sayings are mursal but there are several narrations of them which must strengthen each other." This is further supported by statements of some Companions such as 'Ali, 'Umar, and 'A'ishah. And the second is that foodstuffs are highly useful, like livestock, so they must

likewise be zakatable. 34

Both of these two points do not stand up against the sweeping generalization of the text in Qur'an and Sunnah which indicate that the obligation of zakah is on all that

comes from the earth or is watered by the sky. 35

3. The view that non-perishable crops that can be dried and measured are zakatable

Ahmad is reported in al Mughni to have said that these three conditions must be met for zakatability, whether the crop is a food item or otherwise. 36 Thus grain, cotton, sesame, some vegetables and many fruits are included. However, some fruits like apple, pear, peach, and apricot and some vegetables like cucumber, eggplant, and carrot are all not zakatable.

This view is based on the generality of the saying: "There is one tenth obligatory on that which is watered by the sky " and the Prophet's order to Mu'adh: "Take grain out of grain," 37 and the saying: "There is no zakah on grain or date that are less than five wasq" 38 reported by Muslim and al Nasa'i. This last saying means that for zakatability

the measurability is a required condition. 39

4. The view that anything that stems from the soil is zakatable

According to Abu Hanifah anything that is planted and harvested with the intention of making a profit, is zakatable. Natural forests, bushes and plants that grow on their own are not zakatable except when the owners intend to use the land for lumber or

fodder plantation. In this case those products become zakatable. 40 Abu Hanifah does not consider any of the conditions of edibility, driability, non-perishability, or measurability. Daud and his zahiri disciples go along with Abu Hanifah on this issue. This is also reported to be the view of 'Umar bin Abd al Aziz, Mujahid, Hammad and a report from

al Nakha'i. 41 Abu Yusuf and Muhammad do not agree with their teacher Abu Hanifah on the zakatability of vegetables.

According to Abu Hanifah and his two disciples, sugarcane, safran, cotton, and other fibers, all fruits, and spices are zakatable. So are vegetables, in his view only. Abu Hanifah uses the following in support of his opinion. Firstly, he says the general terms of the verse in surah al Baqara "and from what We have produced for you from the

earth" make no exception of any agricultural products. 42 Secondly, the verse "and render its right dues on the day of its harvest" comes after the mention of several kinds of trees and fruits.

Zakah on Agriculture

If zakah should cover fruits it must also cover vegetables because the latter are easier

to produce and to transfer to the poor and needy, even more so than grains. 43 Thirdly, the saying "A due of one-tenth is obligatory on that which is watered by the sky and half-tenth is required on that which is watered by carried water" does not distinguish between edible or non-edible, perishable or non-perishable, measurable or non-measurable crops.

Discussion and analysis

The view of Abu Hanifah seems to be the strongest. It suits the general objectives of zakah and the justice of its implementation as expressed in the texts of Qur'an and Sunnah. We must also remember that this is the opinion of several great scholars such as

'Umar bin Abd al Aziz, Mujahid, Hammad, Daud, and al Nakha'i. 44 The few sayings that talk about four food items are either munqati' (interrupted) or weak. 45 Even if one were to accept the sayings, the restriction to the four items can be interpreted as a mere reference to items present at the time of the Prophet. 46 It is remarkable that none of the four schools of thoughts took such limitation for granted.

Amazingly enough, the late Rashid Rida supports this narrow view, after he adds corn to the four other crops, saying 'If anything must be added by analogy it is rice especially in areas where rice is the main subsistence'. 47 This is amazing because Rida himself uses the argument of generality with respect to trade assets. The generality argument is in fact more applicable to the produce of earth that is referred to in the verses than to any thing else.

On the other hand, a Malikite like Ibn al 'Arabi supports the position of Abu Hanifah

in his Ahkam al Qur'an. 48 He also writes in the commentary on Al Tirmidhi, "The strongest view is that of Abu Hanifah, because it is more advantageous to the needy, most supported by the general terms of the texts and more appropriate as an expression

of gratitude for Gods' grace." 49

In his explanation of the verse "and give its right dues . . . ", Ibn al Arabi says " Abu Hanifah hits truth in obligating zakah on foodstuff and other crop, as implied by the general terms of the Prophet's saying, 'and one-tenth is obliged on what the sky waters'. Ahmads' opinion depends on a weak argument in mistakenly interpreting the saying 'there is no zakah on what is less than five wasq' to mean there is a condition of measurability, instead of a minimum for zakatability that applies to all crops, measurable or not. The edibility condition of the shafi'ites is baseless. God reminds of His grace in providing food and fruits and obligates dues on both, in spite of differences in kinds of crops or in the way a given crop is used, such as using oil extracted from a crop for light to enjoy the grace of vision and the removal of darkness. How could anyone claim that zakah is not obligated on vegetables because they usually are distributed fresh and not dried knowing that fresh date and fresh grape are both zakatable without any need for drying. Fresh fruits are an essential part of the bounties God bestows on us. He even mentions them as some of the enjoyments offered in

Heaven as in the verse 'in them will be fruits and dates and pomegranates,' 50 and also the

Fiqh al Zakah (Vol. I), Dr. Yusuf al Qardawi

verse, 'for that We pour forth water in abundance, and we split the earth in fragments, and produce therein grain, and grapes and nutritious plants, and olives and dates, and

enclose gardens dense with lofty trees, and fruits and fodder'. 51 Ibn al Arabi continues, 'One may argue that we have no report that the Prophet (p) collected zakah from the vegetables in Madinah and Khaibar. My answer to this is that lack of evidence that he collected zakah is not evidence that zakah is not required, especially since we have sufficient proof in the Qur'an itself.'

The saying that reads "No zakah is obligated on vegetables" has a weak chain and does not help as evidence. 52 Al Tirmidhi indicates the chain of this saying is incorrect: nothing authentic is reported from the Prophet (P) on this issue. 53 Some Hanafi jurists tend to understand this saying as a reference to the perishability of vegetables and an advice to zakah collector not to collect vegetables because they cannot be preserved. 54 Those jurists require that producers of vegetables distribute their zakah directly although some suggest that zakah be assessed and collected in value instead of in kind. It is reported by Yahya bin Adam from al Zuhri that "anything other than wheat, barley, date,

grape and olive should be zakated in value ." 55

'Ata says, "Vegetables, walnuts, almonds and fruits are not subject to the one-tenth due. But whatever is sold of them is subject to zakah if the value is two hundred dirhams or more." 56 Similar opinion is reported from al Sha'bi. 56 Abu 'Ubaid attributes similar views to Maimun bin Mahran, al Zuhri and perhaps al Awza'i. 56 Al Zuhri and Maimun apply here the nisab and rate applicable to silver. 56 Abu 'Ubaid further reports that Malik applies the same to fresh date, grape and olive. The latter adds, however,

another condition, that the crop must be five wasq or more. 57

The idea of calculating zakah of perishable vegetables and fruits on the basis of value is very practical but I tend to differ with the above scholars on the nisab and ratio, since changing the mode of payment from in kind to value does not necessitate a change in the rate and nisab of zakah. I believe that the rates and nisab of agriculture must still

be applicable. We have on hand a report from Al Sha'bi that the value of grapes is zakated at the rate of one-tenth or one half-tenth. 58 Ibn Abi Zaid in al Risalah mentions that "Olives are subject to zakah if the crop is five wasq or more, and zakah can be paid out of the olive oil or the proceeds of sale." And in his comments al Risalah, Ibn Naji adds "this is also reported from Malik. The generally accepted opinion in the Maliki school is that zakah on olive oil is paid in oil, while zakah on olives sold unsqueezed is

paid in value." 59

Zakah on Agriculture