Zakat on What the Earth Produces

  1. With regard to agricultural produce, the text of the hadith mentions wheat, barley, raisins and dates.
  2. Zakat is due on every agricultural product which is measured in volume and weight and normally dried and stored. For example, from the grains: wheat, barley, corn, rice, chickpeas, lentils, sesame, etc. Examples from fruits: raisins, dates, almonds, etc.
  3. There is no zakat on agricultural products which are sold in a fresh and perishable state such as grapes, olives, walnuts, etc. Nor is there any zakat on fresh fruits and vegetables.
  4. Zakat on these items is due upon the final product (after removal of chaff, etc.) when two conditions are met:
    1. The quantity of product reaches the nisaab, which is 5 awsuq which is equal to 300 saw' (each wasq is equal to 60 saw'), each saw' being equal to 4 amdaad (singular: mudd) or double handfuls of an average man. Bottom line: approximately 1600 pounds.
    2. That the owner possess this amount (nisaab) at the time of the obligation which is when ripeness or being ready to harvest first appears, i.e., just before it is ready to be harvested and eaten.
  5. The amount due is 10% of that which is watered without expense such as by rain, rivers or ground water and 5% on that which is watered with expense such as irrigation, sprinklers, etc.
  6. The zakat must be paid from the clean grain after removal of stems, hulls, etc. and from the already dried and prepared in the case of fruits.
  7. The Sunnah is for the imam to send out the appraisers at the time of obligation (first appearance of readiness, shortly before harvest time) to perform estimates. These appraisers must be Muslim, trustworthy and expert in the field in order to give accurate appraisals. Their wages come from the zakat itself.
  8. It is obligatory for the imam to send the collectors at harvest time in order to collect the zakat which is due.
  9. Zakat and kharaaj can both be due on the same fields if a Muslim comes to own any land upon which there is kharaaj.
  10. The zakat of honey is 10% and its nisaab is 160 pounds.
  11. What is due upon rikaaz is 20% and it is in the general treasury, not restricted to the avenues of zakat.
  12. The meaning of rikaaz includes buried treasure (known not to have been the property of a Muslim) and mineral deposits.