Fiqh-us Sunnah
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Volume 003, Zakaat and Fasting, Fiqh 3.042.
Hadith Section/Book: Fiqh-us Sunnah Fiqh-us Sunnah Section 43. Zakah On Animals
Section : What Should Not Be Included in Zakah.
The rights of property owners must be considered when their properties are subjected to zakah. The best items are not to be taken as zakah unless the owners freely permit it. Likewise, the rights of the poor should be considered. A defective animal should not be taken as zakah unless all of the other animals are defective. In such a case, zakah is due on the average of that property. Some proofs for this view are:
1. In the letter of Abu Bakr: "Neither an old or a defective animal nor a billy goat may be taken as zakah."
2. Sufyan ibn 'Abdullah ath-Thaqafi reported: "Umar forbade the zakah collector to levy zakah on the following: barren ewes (al-'akulah), a sheep kept at home for milk (ar-rahy), a pregnant ewe (al-rnakhid), or a ram used for breeding (fahl al-ghanam)."
3. 'Abdullah ibn Mu'awiyyah al-Ghadiri reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: "Whoever performs these three acts will have had (savoured) a taste of belief ('irnan): He who worships Allah alone, and [believes] that there is no god but Him; he who good-heartedly offers the zakah on his property which will repay him every year; and he who does not offer a very old sheep, a mangy sheep, a sick sheep, a mean and low sheep, or a ewe which produces only a small amount of milk. You should offer one from the average. Verily, Allah asks you to offer neither the best nor the worst." It was related by Abu Dawud and at-Tabarani with a good transmission.
The rights of property owners must be considered when their properties are subjected to zakah. The best items are not to be taken as zakah unless the owners freely permit it. Likewise, the rights of the poor should be considered. A defective animal should not be taken as zakah unless all of the other animals are defective. In such a case, zakah is due on the average of that property. Some proofs for this view are:
1. In the letter of Abu Bakr: "Neither an old or a defective animal nor a billy goat may be taken as zakah."
2. Sufyan ibn 'Abdullah ath-Thaqafi reported: "Umar forbade the zakah collector to levy zakah on the following: barren ewes (al-'akulah), a sheep kept at home for milk (ar-rahy), a pregnant ewe (al-rnakhid), or a ram used for breeding (fahl al-ghanam)."
3. 'Abdullah ibn Mu'awiyyah al-Ghadiri reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: "Whoever performs these three acts will have had (savoured) a taste of belief ('irnan): He who worships Allah alone, and [believes] that there is no god but Him; he who good-heartedly offers the zakah on his property which will repay him every year; and he who does not offer a very old sheep, a mangy sheep, a sick sheep, a mean and low sheep, or a ewe which produces only a small amount of milk. You should offer one from the average. Verily, Allah asks you to offer neither the best nor the worst." It was related by Abu Dawud and at-Tabarani with a good transmission.