The amount of gold which constitutes a Nisab is 20 miskats, or of silver
200 dirhems (=L5 4s.). Whether these metals are in coin or not,
one-fortieth part is due. Some say that gold and silver ornaments are
exempt, but Imam Shafa'i does not admit this, and quotes from Abu Daud the
following Tradition: "A woman with a child, on whose arms were heavy golden
bracelets, came to the Prophet. He enquired if the Zakat had been given for
them. On receiving a reply in the negative he said: 'It is easy for God in
the day of judgment to make thee wear bracelets of fire.' The girl then
took them off and said: 'These are for the service of God and of His
Prophet.'" On all treasure known as rikaz, that is, buried treasure found
by any one, and on valuable metals extracted from mines, one-fifth of the
value must be paid, whether the land be Khariji, rented at its proper
market value; or 'Ushari possessed by the payment of a tithe. If the rikaz
is found in Dar-ul-Harb, a country under a non-Muslim Government, the whole
belongs to the finder, if it is on his own land, or if on unclaimed {220}
land he must pay the one-fifth. If the coins found bear the mint stamp of a
Musalman Government, the finder must, if he can, find the owner and return
them to him; if they were coined in a mint belonging to the Infidels, after
having given one-fifth as Zakat, he may retain four-fifths for himself.
Pearls, amber and turquoise are not subject to any deduction, for the
Prophet said: "There is no Zakat for stones."
As regards cattle the following rules have been laid down. For sheep and
goats nothing is given when the number is under forty. The owner must give
one for one hundred and twenty, two for the next eighty and one for every
hundred after. The scale for buffaloes is the same as that for sheep.
For camels the rule is as follows: from 5 to 24 in number, one sheep or
goat must be given; from 25 to 35, one yearling female camel
(bint-i-mukhaz); from 36 to 45, one two-year old female camel
(bint-i-labun); from 46 to 60, one three-year old female camel (hiqqah);
from 61 to 75, one four-year old female camel (jaz'ah); from 76 to 90, two
bint-i-labun; from 91 to 120, two hiqqah; and from 121 upwards, either a
bint-i-labun for every forty or a hiqqah for every fifty. Horses follow
this scale, or two and a half per cent on the value may be given instead.
For 30 cows a one-year old female calf (tabi'a) must be given; for 40, a
two-year old female calf (musinna), and after that one calf for every ten
cows.
Donkeys and mules are exempt, for the Prophet said: "No order has come down
(from heaven) to me about them."
If a stock of merchandize exceeds the Nisab (L5 4s.), Zakat must be given
on it and on the profits at the rate of one in forty, or two-and-a-half per
cent. The Hanifites do not count a fraction of the forty. The Shafa'ites
count such a fractional part as forty and require the full Zakat to be paid
on it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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