Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, to the Questions of the Followers of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
Answer to a Question
To: Baher Saleh
Question:
I noticed in the Ameer's answer—may Allah protect him—regarding the Zakat of shared money (nuqud), that it differs from what was mentioned in the book Al-Amwal (The Funds) regarding the Zakat of partners in sheep. In the book Al-Amwal, the text states:
"Ruling on Partners in Sheep: Partnership or mixture (kholtah) in grazing sheep (saimah) makes the wealth of the two partners, or the two mixers, like the wealth of one man in Zakat, whether it is a mixture of assets (kholtat a'yan)—which is when the livestock is shared between them, where each has an undivided share that is not distinct, such as if they inherit a nisab (minimum threshold), buy it as a partnership, or it is gifted to them, and they keep it as it is without sorting or division—or whether it is a mixture of attributes (kholtat awsaf). The latter is when the wealth of each is distinct, but they mixed them and shared—whether they are equal in the partnership or differ—in the shepherd, the pasture, the male breeder (fahl), and the watering place. The sheep of a partnership or mixture, regardless of the number of partners or mixers and regardless of their shares, are calculated when taking Zakat from them as if they are the sheep of one man; they are counted as one and remain in their state without separation or gathering. If they reach forty, the musaddiq (Zakat collector) takes one sheep; if they reach one hundred and twenty-one, he takes two sheep; if they reach two hundred and one, he takes three sheep; and if they reach four hundred, he takes four sheep. What the musaddiq takes as Zakat is divided among the partners or mixers according to their shares in the sheep, and the one who paid less returns to the one who paid more based on his share, due to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ خَلِيطَيْنِ فَإِنَّهُمَا يَتَرَاجَعَانِ بَيْنَهُمَا بِالسَّوِيَّةِ
'Regarding two partners, they return (to each other) what they gave in equality.' (Reported by Abu Dawood)."
So, is my observation correct, or is there something else I did not perceive?
In other words, is what was mentioned in the book Al-Amwal regarding the ruling on partners in sheep restricted only to the Zakat of sheep or livestock and not other types of Zakat? For I had previously understood that the matter was related to the nature of partnership and mixture that occurs in a company, rather than being related to sheep alone.
May Allah bless you, protect you with His protection, and care for you, if Allah wills, and gather us and you soon in the Abode of the Righteous Khilafah.
Your brother, Baher Saleh. 17/08/2020.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
You are referring to the answer to the question we issued on 19 Dhu al-Hijjah 1441 AH corresponding to 09/08/2020 CE titled: (Zakat of Shared Money), which stated that partnership in money has no effect on Zakat; rather, each partner pays Zakat for themselves if their wealth reaches the nisab and a haul (lunar year) has passed over it according to the relevant Shari’ah rulings... And you are quoting from the book Al-Amwal in the Khilafah State to the effect that partnership and mixture in sheep have an effect on the Zakat of sheep, and you are asking if this ruling includes money as well—contrary to what came in our mentioned answer—or if it is specific to sheep or livestock...
The answer is as follows:
1- The origin of Zakat is that it is an individual act of worship related to the wealth of the individual. This is because the evidences for Zakat were directed to the owner of the wealth if their wealth reaches the nisab and a haul has passed over it. That is, the ruling of Zakat is attached to the individual's wealth alone and is not attached to the wealth of others with it. Among those evidences:
- It was mentioned in a long Hadith reported by Muslim from Zaid bin Aslam, that Abu Salih Dhakwan informed him that he heard Abu Hurairah saying: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مَا مِنْ صَاحِبِ ذَهَبٍ وَلَا فِضَّةٍ، لَا يُؤَدِّي مِنْهَا حَقَّهَا، إِلَّا إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ، صُفِّحَتْ لَهُ صَفَائِحُ مِنْ نَارٍ، فَأُحْمِيَ عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ... قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَالْإِبِلُ؟ قَالَ: وَلَا صَاحِبُ إِبِلٍ لَا يُؤَدِّي مِنْهَا حَقَّهَا وَمِنْ حَقِّهَا حَلَبُهَا يَوْمَ وِرْدِهَا إِلَّا إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ بُطِحَ لَهَا بِقَاعٍ قَرْقَرٍ أَوْفَرَ مَا كَانَتْ لَا يَفْقِدُ مِنْهَا فَصِيلاً وَاحِداً تَطَؤُهُ بِأَخْفَافِهَا وَتَعَضُّهُ بِأَفْوَاهِهَا كُلَّمَا مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ أُولَاهَا رُدَّ عَلَيْهِ أُخْرَاهَا... قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَالْبَقَرُ وَالْغَنَمُ؟ قَالَ: وَلَا صَاحِبُ بَقَرٍ وَلَا غَنَمٍ لَا يُؤَدِّي مِنْهَا حَقَّهَا إِلَّا إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ بُطِحَ لَهَا بِقَاعٍ قَرْقَرٍ لَا يَفْقِدُ مِنْهَا شَيْئاً لَيْسَ فِيهَا عَقْصَاءُ وَلَا جَلْحَاءُ وَلَا عَضْبَاءُ تَنْطَحُهُ بِقُرُونِهَا وَتَطَؤُهُ بِأَظْلَافِهَا كُلَّمَا مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ أُولَاهَا رُدَّ عَلَيْهِ أُخْرَاهَا...
"There is no owner of gold or silver who does not pay its due right, but that on the Day of Resurrection, plates of fire will be prepared for him, and they will be heated in the Hellfire... It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what about camels? He said: Nor any owner of camels who does not pay its due right—and part of its right is milking it on the day it comes down to water—but that on the Day of Resurrection, he will be thrown on his face in a level plain, as numerous as they ever were, not a single young weaning camel being missing, and they will trample him with their hooves and bite him with their mouths; as often as the last of them has passed, the first of them will be brought back to him... It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what about cows and sheep? He said: Nor any owner of cows or sheep who does not pay its due right, but that on the Day of Resurrection, he will be thrown on his face in a level plain, not one of them being missing, none of them having twisted horns, or being hornless, or having broken horns, and they will gore him with their horns and trample him with their hooves; as often as the last of them has passed, the first of them will be brought back to him..." (Reported by Muslim)
- Bukhari reported from Ibn Abbas (ra): That the Prophet ﷺ sent Mu'adh (ra) to Yemen and said:
...فَأَعْلِمْهُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ افْتَرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَدَقَةً فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ تُؤْخَذُ مِنْ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ وَتُرَدُّ عَلَى فُقَرَائِهِمْ
"...Inform them that Allah has made Sadaqah obligatory upon them from their wealth, taken from their rich and given to their poor." (Reported by Bukhari)
- From Ali bin Abi Talib from the Prophet ﷺ, he said:
... فَإِذَا كَانَتْ لَكَ مِائَتَا دِرْهَمٍ وَحَالَ عَلَيْهَا الْحَوْلُ فَفِيهَا خَمْسَةُ دَرَاهِمَ وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكَ شَيْءٌ - يَعْنِي فِي الذَّهَبِ - حَتَّى يَكُونَ لَكَ عِشْرُونَ دِينَاراً فَإِذَا كَانَ لَكَ عِشْرُونَ دِينَاراً وَحَالَ عَلَيْهَا الْحَوْلُ فَفِيهَا نِصْفُ دِينَارٍ
"...If you have two hundred dirhams and a year has passed over them, then five dirhams are due from them, and you do not owe anything—meaning in gold—until you have twenty dinars. If you have twenty dinars and a year has passed over them, then half a dinar is due." (Reported by Abu Dawood).
It is clear from the words used in these noble Hadiths that the ruling of Zakat is attached to the individual's wealth and not to wealth in absolute terms; i.e., it is attached to what the individual himself owns, not what others own: "...There is no owner of gold or silver... nor owner of camels... nor owner of cows or sheep...", "...Inform them that Allah has made Sadaqah obligatory upon them from their wealth, taken from their rich and given to their poor", "...If you have two hundred dirhams... and you do not owe anything... until you have twenty dinars...". Therefore, in the calculation of Zakat, the wealth owned by the child is not added to the wealth owned by the parent and vice versa, nor the wealth owned by the wife to the wealth owned by the husband and vice versa, etc. Rather, the calculation is for the wealth owned by the individual separately from what others own. If he alone has what reaches the nisab, then Zakat is obligatory upon it if the haul has passed...
2- Nothing of the Zakat funds is excluded from the aforementioned origin except with an evidence that indicates its exception. An evidence has been mentioned in the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that excludes sheep and makes Zakat applicable to them if they are in a partnership or mixture, and thus they are treated as the wealth of one man even if there are multiple partners or mixers. Consequently, Zakat is obligatory on them if they reach the nisab collectively, even if the nisab of one of the partners or mixers, or all of them, is not complete individually or upon separation...
We have explained in the book Al-Amwal in the Khilafah State the details of the Shari'ah ruling regarding mixed sheep and the meaning of mixture in the chapter "Ruling on Partners in Sheep" as follows:
[Partnership or mixture in grazing sheep makes the wealth of the two partners, or the two mixers, like the wealth of one man in Zakat, whether it is a mixture of assets, which is when the livestock is shared between them, where each has an undivided share that is not distinct, such as if they inherit a nisab, buy it as a partnership, or it is gifted to them, and they keep it as it is without sorting or division—whether it is such, or whether it is a mixture of attributes. The latter is when the wealth of each is distinct, but they mixed them and shared—whether they are equal in the partnership or differ—in the shepherd, the pasture, the male breeder, and the watering place. The sheep of a partnership or mixture, regardless of the number of partners or mixers and regardless of their shares, are calculated when taking Zakat from them as if they are the sheep of one man; they are counted as one and remain in their state without separation or gathering. If they reach forty, the musaddiq takes one sheep; if they reach one hundred and twenty-one, he takes two sheep; if they reach two hundred and one, he takes three sheep; and if they reach four hundred, he takes four sheep. What the musaddiq takes as Zakat is divided among the partners or mixers according to their shares in the sheep, and the one who paid less returns to the one who paid more based on his share, due to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "Regarding two partners, they return (to each other) what they gave in equality." Reported by Abu Dawood.
The musaddiq keeps the sheep as they are and counts them as they are. He is not allowed to separate them to take more from them, such as if three partners or mixers have one hundred and twenty sheep, forty for each person; if the musaddiq intentionally separates them to take three sheep, one from each partner, it is not permissible for him. He must keep them as they are and take only one sheep from them. Likewise, it is not permissible for the owners of the sheep to separate them upon the arrival of the musaddiq for the purpose of decreasing their Zakat or not paying Zakat on them. For example, if two partners or mixers have two hundred and one sheep, they separate them to pay two sheep instead of three, which would be the case if the sheep remained gathered as they are, or if they own forty sheep and separate them so they pay nothing after separation.
Just as it is not permissible to separate what is gathered of sheep, it is also not permissible to gather what is separate for the purpose of decreasing what they pay. For example, if two men have eighty sheep, forty for each man separately, not mixed and not shared, and when the musaddiq comes they mix them together so that they pay only one sheep instead of each of them paying one sheep. The evidence for the impermissibility of separating the gathered and gathering the separate is what was narrated by Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "No portion shall be separated from what is joined, nor shall any portions be joined from what is separate, out of fear of Sadaqah (Zakat). And the two mixers are those who gather upon the male breeder, the pasture, and the trough." And in a narration: "and the shepherd." Reported by Abu Ubaid.] End of quote from the book Al-Amwal in the Khilafah State.
3- Included with sheep in this ruling are all other livestock upon which Zakat is obligatory, such as camels and cows, if they are in a partnership or mixture, such that they are treated as the wealth of one man even if the partners or mixers are multiple. Thus, Zakat is obligatory on them if they reach the nisab collectively, even if the nisab of one of the partners or mixers, or all of them, is not complete individually or upon separation. The evidence for this is the Hadith mentioned above, as it contains the explanation of the mixer ("And the two mixers are those who gather upon the male breeder, the pasture, the trough, and the shepherd"). This is suitable for reasoning (ta'lil) by indication as it is an informative description (wasf mufhim), and therefore it includes cows and camels and not just sheep because this cause ('illah) is realized. This is in addition to the fact that the wording of the Hadith is general regarding what is separated and gathered, thus affecting the Zakat by its separation and gathering: "...nor shall any portions be joined from what is separate, nor shall any portion be separated from what is joined, out of fear of Sadaqah...", and separation and gathering in camels and cows affect the Sadaqah by increase or decrease...
4- As for other Zakat funds such as money, crops, fruits, and trade, no evidence that we consider preponderant has been mentioned to exclude them from the origin. Thus, for wealth other than livestock, the original ruling remains applicable to them as explained in point "1".
This is the opinion of the majority of scholars, as stated in Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi:
[(Issue: They mixed in other than grazing livestock such as gold, silver, trade goods, crops, and fruits)
(1736) Issue: He said: (And if they mix in other than this, Zakat is taken from each one of them individually, if the part belonging to him is subject to Zakat). The meaning is that if they mix in other than grazing livestock, such as gold, silver, trade goods, crops, and fruits, their mixture does not affect anything, and their ruling is the ruling of individuals. This is the saying of most people of knowledge. And from Ahmad is another narration that the partnership of assets affects other than livestock; if there is a nisab between them in which they share, then Zakat is due upon them... The correct view is that mixture does not affect other than livestock, because of the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "And the two mixers are those who share in the trough, the male breeder, and the shepherd." This indicates that what does not contain these is not an effective mixture. And the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "Do not gather between what is separate out of fear of Sadaqah" only applies to livestock; because Zakat decreases by gathering them sometimes and increases at other times. As for all other funds, Zakat is due on what exceeds the nisab proportionately, so there is no effect of gathering them...].
5- With this clarification, it appears that there is no difference or contradiction between what came in the answer to the question we issued on 19 Dhu al-Hijjah 1441 AH corresponding to 09/08/2020 CE titled: (Zakat of Shared Money), and what came in the book Al-Amwal in the Khilafah State in the chapter "Ruling on Partners in Sheep". This is because the answer to the question pertains to money, whereas what came in the book Al-Amwal in the Khilafah State is about sheep, and the ruling on money is different from the ruling on sheep regarding the subject of mixture and partnership.
I hope this answer is sufficient, and Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
19 Rabi’ al-Akhir 1442 AH Corresponding to 04/12/2020 CE
Link to the answer from the Ameer's Facebook page Link to the answer from the Ameer's website