Its
Obligation:
The obligation of
Zakat
on fruits was proved
in The Noble Qur'an, Sunnah and the consensus of Muslims
scholars. In The Noble Qur'an, Allah, The Almighty, says:
“And He is The (One) Who has brought into being gardens trellised
and untrellised, and the palm-trees, and plantation of different
crops, and the olives, and the pomegranates, co-similar and not
co-similar (Literally: other than being co-similar). Eat of their
produce when they have produced, and bring the true (right) thereof
on the day of its harvest…”
(Al-An'am:141)
Considering the Sunnah,
the Prophet (PBUH) said: "A tenth is payable on what is irrigated by
rivers, or watered by rains, and a twentieth share on what is
watered by water carried by camels." (Narrated by Muslim)
All in all, scholars of the
Islamic Nation unanimously agreed that the tenth or its half is due
on what land produces as a whole, even if they disagreed in some
details.
Crops Requiring
Zakat:
Muslim scholars, past and
present, disagreed upon the crops which require
Zakat.
The Maliki and Shafi'i agreed that
Zakat
is due on all eatable crops which people can store in general
including wheat, rice and the like. Therefore, they see that there
is no due
Zakat on
almonds, pistachio and nutmeg because they are not basic food
stuff. The same applies to apples, peaches and the like because they
could not be stored.
The Hanbali Scholars, on the
other hand, agreed that
Zakat
is due on everything planted, kept and weighable. The Hanafi
Scholars, on their part, agreed that
Zakat
is due on all land production, regardless of whether they are stored
or not. Thereupon, they see that
Zakat is
due on fruits, vegetables, etc.
Due Nisab of
Zakat
on Crops and Fruits:
It was mentioned in the
authentic Hadith that ‘No sadaqa (Zakat) is payable on less than five ‘Wasqs.’ Five Wasqs are
equal to [653K.g.] of wheat and the like. As for the seeds and
fruits that go under process of dehydration, the previous sum should
be observed after the process of dehydration not before it.
Due Time of Fruits and
Crops
Zakat:
Paying
Zakat
on fruits and crops is not conditioned by the passage of one year:
it is due on the day of its harvest. This is in conformity with the
following Qur'anic verse:
“…and
bring the true (right) thereof on the day of its harvest..”
(Al-An'am:141)
Accordingly, if the land
yielded more than one harvest in one year, the owner should pay
Zakat on
every single harvest as long as it reached Nisab. Then again,
if the harvest did not reach Nisab, one should add all the
crops and fruits of the whole year together, as long as they are of
the same kind; until they reach Nisab then pay the
Zakat.
Any surplus crops, which are less than Nisab, should be added
to other harvests when calculating
Zakat.
Due Amount of
Zakat
on Crops and Fruits:
The due amount of
Zakat
on land production differs according to the efforts exerted in
irrigation as follows:
