Zakat on Partnership in Sheep

প্রশ্ন · Question

I noticed in the Q&A of the Ameer – May Allah protect him – regarding
Zakat on joint money that it differs from what was stated in the book
“Funds in the Khilafah State” regarding the Zakat on partnership in
sheep, as it was mentioned in the Funds book as stated:
The Rule on Partners in Sheep (al-Ghanam)
"The partnership or mixing in grazing sheep makes the property of the
partners or two associates like the property of one man in Zakat. This
is the case whether the livestock is shared jointly between them such
that each one has a common unspecified share, for example if they
inherit a portion, purchase them in partnership or they are gifts given
to both of them so they retain them in this situation without
separation or division. This may be whether they were given to them
together or they were separate sh ares and they mixed them later on,
i.e. the property of each one is distinct but they mixed them and
became partners together whether they were of equal shares or not,
with regards to shepherding, pasture, male sheep (al -Fahl) or drinking
place. The sheep of a partnership or mixing, irrespective of the number
of partners or associates or their shares, are counted like the sheep
and goats of one man in taking Zakat. They are counted as one and
remain in their situation without separation or combination. If t hey
reach forty, then the collector of Sadaqah takes one sheep, and if they
reach one hundred and twenty one, two sheep are taken. Three sheep
are taken if they reach two hundred and one, and four sheep are taken
if they reach four hundred. The collector of Sadaqah divides what he

takes as Zakat from the partners or associates according to their shares
in the sheep such that the least among them returns to the higher in
his share due to the Prophet's saying:
«
“If a property is equally owned by two partners, they should pay the
combined Zakat and it will be considered that both of them have paid
their Zakat equally..” Reported by Abu Dawud."
Is my remark correct, or is there something else that I missed?
In other words, is what is mentioned in the book “Funds in the Khilafah
State” regarding the “ruling on partners in sheep,” limited only to the
zakat of sheep or livestock, and no other kinds of zakat? As I
understood earlier that the matter is related to the nature of
partnership and the mixing that takes place in the company, and that it
is not related to sheep alone.
May Allah bless you and protect you, and may He ﷻ unite us with you
soon in the righteous Khilafah state (Caliphate).
17/8/2020 CE.

উত্তর · Answer

Wa Alaykom Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Baraktuhu,
You mean the Q&A that we published on 19 Dhul Hijjah 1441 AH,
corresponding 09/08/2020 CE titled: “ Zakat on Joint Money,” which
implies that partnership in cash has no effect on zakat; rather, each
one of the partners should pay zakat on his own behalf if his money
reaches the nisaab and one year has passed in accordance with the
relevant Sharia rulings, and you brought an abstract from the book:
“Funds in the Khilafah State” that implies that partnering and mixing
in sheep has an effect on the zakat of sheep, and you are asking
whether this ruling includes cash also, in contrast to what came in our
aforementioned answer, or is it specific to sheep or cattle.

And the answer is as follow:
1- The ‘asl (original ruling) of Zakat is that it is a personal ‘Ibadah
related to the money of individuals, because the evidences of Zakat are
directed at a Muslim who possesses the minimum amount (Nisab) in
excess of his debts for the duration of a year. i.e. the hukm of Zakat is
related to the individual’s earned money alone and not the money he
possesses for others. Some of these evidences include:
- it was narrated in a long Hadith, reported by Muslim from Zayd ibn
Aslam, that Abu Saleh Dhakwan told him that he heard Abu Hurairah
say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺsaid:
«
حْمًِّيَ عَلَيْهَا ف ِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ
ُ
صَفَائِحُ مِنْ نَارٍ، فَأ
ِبِلُ؟ قَالَ: وَلََ صَاحِبُ إِبِلٍ لََ يُؤَدري مِنْهَا حَقَّهَا وَمِنْ حَقرهَا حَلَبُهَا يَ
قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَالإْ وْمَ
وْفَرَ مَا كَانَتْ لََ يَفْقِدُ مِنْهَا فَصِ
َ
وِرْدِهَا إِلََّ إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ بُطِحَ لَهَا بِقَاعٍ قَرْقَرٍ أ يلاً وَاحِداً
خْرَاهَا...
ُ
ولََهَا رُدَّ عَلَيْهِ أ
ُ
فْوَاهِهَا كُلهمَا مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ أ
َ
خْفَافِهَا وَتَعَضُّهُ بِأ
َ
تَطَؤُهُ بِأ
قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَالْبَقَرُ وَالْغَنَمُ؟ قَالَ: وَلََ صَاحِبُ بَقَرٍ وَلََ غَنَمٍ لََ يُؤَدري مِنْهَا حَقَّهَا إِلََّ إِذَا
كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ بُطِحَ لَهَا بِقَاعٍ قَرْقَرٍ لََ يَفْقِدُ مِنْهَا شَيْئاً لَيْسَ فِيهَا عَقْصَاءُ وَلََ جَلْحَاءُ وَلََ
خْرَاهَا
ُ
ولََهَا رُدَّ عَلَيْهِ أ
ُ
ظْلََفِهَا كُلهمَا مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ أ
َ
عَضْبَاءُ تَنْطَحُهُ بِقُرُونِهَا وَتَطَؤُهُ بِأ .
Any person who possesses gold or silver and does not pay what is
due on it (i.e., the Zakat); on the Day of Resurrection, sheets of silver
and gold would be heated for him in the fire of Hell…
It was asked, "How about someone who owns camels and does not
pay what is due on him (i.e., their Zakat)?" He (ﷺreplied, "In the
same way the owner of camels who does not discharge what is due in
respect of them (their due includes their milking on the day when
they are taken to water) will be thrown on his face or on his back in a
vast desert plain on the Day of Resurrection and they will trample
upon him with their hoofs and bite him with their teeth. As often as
the first of them passes him, the last of them will be made to return…

It was (again) asked: "O Messenger of Allah, what about cows (cattle)
and sheep?" He (ﷺsaid, "If anyone who possesses cattle and sheep
and does not pay what is due on them (i.e., their Zakat); on the Day
of Resurrection, he will be thrown on his face in a vast plain desert.
He will find none of the animals missing with twisted horns, without
horns or with a broken horn, and they will gore him with their horns
and trample upon him with their hoofs. As often as the first of them
passes him, the last of them will be made to return to him…”
- Bukhari reported from Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them):
The Prophet (ﷺappointed Mu'adh (May Allah be pleased with him)
as governor of Yemen, and at the time of his departure, he instructed
him thus:
غْنِيَائِهِمْ وَتُرَدُّ عَلََ
َ
مْوَالِهِمْ تُؤْخَذُ مِنْ أ
َ
نَّ اللَّهَ افْي ََضَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَدَقَةً ف ِي أ
َ
عْلِمْهُمْ أ
َ
«
فُقَرَائِهِمْ .
tell them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay Zakah
upon their assets and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them
and given to the poor among them.”
- Ali ibn abu Talib narrated: The Prophet (ﷺsaid:
يْءٌ
«
- يَعْن ِي ف ِي الذَّهَبِ - حَن َّ يَكُونَ لَكَ عِشُِّْونَ دِينَاراً فَإِذَا كَانَ لَكَ عِشُِّْونَ دِينَاراً وَحَالَ عَلَيْهَا
الْحَوْلُ فَفِيهَا نِصْفُ دِينَارٍ
When you possess two hundred dirhams and one year passes on
them, five dirhams are payable. Nothing is incumbent on you, that is,
on gold, till it reaches twenty dinars. When you possess twenty
dinars and one year passes on them, half a dinar is payable.”
Reported by Abu Dawud.
And it is apparent from the terms used in these noble Ahadeeth that
the ruling on Zakat is related only to an individual’s money, not money
in general, i.e. it is related to what an individual owns himself and not
to what someone else owns:

«،
غْنِيَائِهِمْ وَتُرَدُّ عَلََ
َ
مْوَالِهِمْ تُؤْخَذُ مِنْ أ
َ
نَّ اللَّهَ افْي ََضَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَدَقَةً ف ِي أ
َ
عْلِمْهُمْ أ
َ
«
فُقَرَائِهِمْ ،
يْءٌ يَعْن ِي ف ِي الذَّهَبِ حَن َّ يَكُونَ لَكَ
«
عِشُِّْونَ دِينَاراً فَإِذَا كَانَ لَكَ عِشُِّْونَ دِينَاراً
Any person who possesses gold or silver… someone who owns
camels… someone who possesses cattle and sheep…” “...tell them
that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay Zakah upon their
assets and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given
to the poor among them.” “...When you possess two hundred
dirhams… Nothing is incumbent on you, that is, on gold, till it reaches
twenty dinars. When you possess twenty dinars,”
Therefore, in the calculation of zakat, the money owned by the son is
not added to the money owned by the father, nor vice versa, nor is the
money owned by the wife added to the money owned by the husband
or vice versa, etc. Rather, zakat is calculated for the money that the
individual owns separately from what others own, and if he alone has
what reaches the nisaab, then zakat is due on it if one year has passed.
2- No amount of zakat money shall be excluded from the
aforementioned ‘asl except with evidence indicating its exclusion from
this ‘asl. Evidence from the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ excludes sheep of
a partnership or mixing, irrespective of the number of partners or
associates or their shares, and they are counted like the sheep and
goats of one man in taking Zakat if they reach the nisaab in
combination, and if the nisaab is not reached by one of the partners or
associates, or all of them individually or at separation.
We have outlined in the book “Funds in the Khilafah State” the details
of the legislative ruling in the mixed sheep and the meaning of
“khultah” (mixing) under the chapter: The Rule on Partners in Sheep,
as follows:

[The partnership or mixing in grazing sheep makes the property of the
partners or two associates like the property of one man in Zakat. This
is the case whether the livestock is shared jointly between them such
that each one has a common unspecified share, for example if they
inherit a portion, purchase them in partnership or they are gifts given
to both of them so they retain them in this situation without
separation or division. This may be whether they were given to them
together or they were separate sh ares and they mixed them later on,
i.e. the property of each one is distinct but they mixed them and
became partners together, whether they were of equal shares or not,
with regards to shepherding, pasture, male sheep (al -Fahl) or drinking
place. The sheep of a partnership or mixing, irrespective of the number
of partners or associates or their shares, are counted like the sheep
and goats of one man in taking Zakat. They are counted as one and
remain in their situation without separation or combination. If they
reach forty then the collector of Sadaqah takes one sheep, and if they
reach one hundred and twenty one, two sheep are taken. Three sheep
are taken if they reach two hundred and one, and four sheep are taken
if they reach four hundred.
The collector of Sadaqah divides what he takes as Zakat from the
partners or associates according to their shares in the sheep such that
the least among them returns to the higher in his share due to the
Prophet’s saying:
«
“If a property is equally owned by two partners, they should pay the
combined Zakat and it will be considered that both of them have paid
their Zakat equally..” Reported by Abu Dawud.
The collector of Sadaqah leaves the sheep and goats as they are and
counts them. It is not allowed to separate them in order to take more,
e.g., when there are three partners with one hundred twenty sheep
with each person owning forty sheep and the Sadaqah collector aims

to separate them in order to take three sheep, one from each person.
This is not allowed for him; rather, he must leave them as they are and
take only one sheep. Similarly it is not allowed for the owners of the
sheep to separate them once the Sadaqah collector came to collect
Zakat in order to reduce or eliminate the Zakat upon them. This is
when two partners or associates have 201 sheep which they divide
(between them) so as to pay two sheep instead of the three if the
sheep were to remain undivided due t o their partnership. Similarly,
they may have together forty sheep but they divide them so as not to
pay anything after the division.
Just as it is not allowed to divide a group of sheep, it is also not allowed
to gather them when they are separated with the intention to reduce
what is to be paid from them. This is seen, for example, where two
men have eighty sheep, each having forty sheep separately and not in
partnership. However when the Sadaqah collector comes, they mix
them together so as not to pay from them except one sheep instead of
each paying one sheep. The evidence for the illegality of dividing a
collected cattle or collectin g the divided one is what Sa’ad b. Abi
Waqqas narrated when he said: “The Messenger of Allah said:
ي الصدقة. والخليطان ما اجتمعا ع
«
الفحل، والمرعى، والحوض
Do not divide between a collected group, nor gather together those
which are divided for Sadaqa. And the two associates are those who
gather together in male sheep, pasture, and water.” And in another
narration: “and (al-Ra’iy) shepherd.”] End of quote from “Funds in the
Khilafah State”
3- Likewise, the same Hukm applies to the rest of cattle on which zakat
is obliged like camels and cows of a partnership or mixing, irrespective
of the number of partners or associates or their shares, and they are
counted like the sheep and goats of one man in taking Zakat. They are
counted as one and remain in their situation without separation or

combination, even if they reach the nisaab in combination, and the
nisaab is not reached by one of the partners or associates, or all of
them individually or at separation. The evidence for this is the Hadith
mentioned above, as it gives the explanation of “Khaleet” «
اجتمعا علَ الفحل، والمرعى، والحوض And the two associates (khaleet) are
those who gather together in male sheep, pasture, and water.” this
can be used as a ‘illah in dalalah as it is a description and a permission
that includes cows and camels, and not only sheep or goats to achieve
this ‘illah. In addition to this, the expression of the Hadith is general in
what is to be divided and gathered, so dividing and gathering it affects
zakat: ِقٍ وَلََ يُفَرَّقُ بَيْْ َ مُجْتَمِعٍ خَشْيَةَ الصَّدَقَةِ
«“Do not
divide between a collected group, nor gather together those which
are divided for Sadaqa.” and dividing and gathering camels and cows
affects the increase and decrease of sadaqah.
4- As for all other zakat funds, such as cash, crops, fruits and trade, we
do not have preponderant evidence that excludes them from the
original hukm (‘asl). Thus, the original ruling of zakat funds remains
applicable to other than livestock, as indicated in point (1).
This is the opinion of the majority of scholars, as stated in “Al-Mughni”
by Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi:
[(A case: They were mixed in other than grazing livestock, such as gold,
silver, trade offers, plants and fruits,)
[1736) A case: he said: "If they are mixed in other than that, it is taken
from each of them individually if his belongings are obligatory for
zakat) which means that if they are mixed in other than grazing
livestock, such as gold, silver, trade offers, plants and fruits, their
mixing has not affected anything, and their judgment was the
judgment of the individuals. This is the opinion of most scholars.
Ahmed has another narration that the company of A'yan affects non -
livestock, and if there is a nisab they share, then they should pay
zakat... But the truth is that the mixture does not affect other than

livestock, as the Prophet ﷺ said:«
والحوضAnd the two associates are those who gather together in
male sheep, pasture, and water.” It is suggested that what does not
have this is not an impressive mix, and the Prophet's saying: «
بَيْْ َ مُتَفَررقٍ، خَشْيَةَ الصَّدَقَةِ nor gather together those which are divided
for Sadaqa.” is in livestock, because zakah becomes less in collecting
them at times, and becomes more in another. For other types of
money, zakah is due on what is more the nisab and calculated
accordingly so there is no effect when mixing them.].
5- With this clarification, it appears that there is no difference or
conflict between what was mentioned in the Q&A published on 19
Dhul Hijjah 1441 AH, corresponding 09/08/2020 CE, titled: “Zakat of
Joint Fund,”and what is mentioned in the book “Funds in the Khilafah
State”, under the chapter: “The Rule on Partners in Sheep,” because
the answer to the question is related to funds, and what is mentioned
in the book “Funds in the Khilafah State” is regarding sheep, and the
ruling on funds differs from the ruling on sheep in the matter of mixing
and partnership.
I hope that this answer is sufficient, and Allah ﷻ Knows Best and He is
the Most Wise.
Your brother,
Abu Yasin
19 Rabii’ Al-Akhir 1442 AH
Corresponding 04/12/2020 CE