Abu Dawud

1562. English Commentary: Imam Abu Dawud and Allamah Mundhiri are silent (do not comment) on this hadith. Ibn Abd al-Barr has called its chain of narration hasan (good). Allamah Ibn Hajar has said regarding its chain that there is ignorance in it (the narrator is unknown). Shaykh Shawkani has also written similarly in "Al-Sayl al-Jarrar" [Al-Sayl al-Jarrar: 26/2, 27]. In "Irwa' al-Ghalil fi Takhrij Ahadith Manar al-Sabil" by al-Albani, it is stated that the ahadith regarding zakat on trade goods are weak. In the Fatawa of Ibn Taymiyyah, it is stated that there is zakat on trade goods (25/15). Ibn al-Mundhir has said that there is consensus among the scholars on this issue that zakat is due on trade goods after a year has passed. This is narrated from Umar, Ibn Umar, and Ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhum). The same fatwa is given by the Seven Jurists (Fuqaha' Sab'ah), Hasan, Jabir ibn Zayd, Maymun ibn Mihran, Tawus, Nakha'i, Thawri, Awza'i, Abu Hanifah, Ahmad, Ishaq, Abu Ubayd, and Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahumullah). In short, caution demands that whatever the type of trade goods, their value should be considered and zakat should be paid on them.

The method of paying zakat on trade goods is that, year by year, whatever trade goods are in the shop or warehouse, their value should be estimated. In addition, whatever amount is in circulation and whatever cash is present should also be counted. The cash, the capital invested in the business, and the estimated value of the trade goods—all should be combined, and zakat should be paid at the rate of two and a half percent (2.5%). However, if there is any trade good that was purchased but has not been sold for several years, then zakat on that good will be paid for only one year upon its sale. Otherwise, for general goods that are not sold in the shop and new stock keeps coming in, since it is difficult to account for each item individually, after a year, the total value of all the goods should be estimated collectively and zakat should be calculated accordingly.

If any amount is frozen in a business, as sometimes happens, and that amount remains stuck for two or three years or even longer, or if there is a situation with a party where the amount is not recovered for several years, then it is not necessary to pay zakat on such lost amounts year by year. When the amount is recovered, zakat for one year should be paid at that time, whenever it is received.

Lexical Explanation:
«نُعِدُّهُ» "We used to prepare it and present it for sale." In «نُعِدُّهُ», the "noon" has a dammah and the "ayn" has a kasrah beneath it. It is derived from "i'dad" in the form of the verb from the Bab-e-If'al. This hadith is evidence for the obligation of zakat on trade goods.

«وَإسْنَادُهُ لَيِّنٌ» Its chain of narration is weak, but Imam Abu Dawud rahimahullah remained silent regarding it, and likewise Imam Mundhiri rahimahullah also remained silent. Ibn Abd al-Barr rahimahullah has said that its chain is of hasan (good) grade. [عون المعبود : 3/2 ، هندي]

Benefit:
The aforementioned narration has been declared weak in its chain by the esteemed researcher, and he has further written that the hasan-grade narration of Jami' al-Tirmidhi: «أدُّوا زَكَاةَ أمْوَالِكُمْ» (Hadith: 616) supports it, and likewise, the statement of Allah Ta'ala «اَنْفِقُوْ مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ» [البقرة 276 : 2] also supports it. From this, it is evident that according to our esteemed researcher as well, zakat is obligatory on trade goods.

Imam Abu Dawud rahimahullah and Mundhiri rahimahullah are silent regarding the ruling of this hadith. Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr rahimahullah has called its chain hasan.

Shaykh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah states that the four Imams and the entire Ummah (except for a few rare individuals) are unanimous that zakat is obligatory on trade goods. [القواعد النورانيه الفقيهية ، ص 89 ، 90 ، طبع مصر]

Imam Ibn Mundhir rahimahullah says that there is consensus among the scholars that zakat is due on trade goods after a year has passed.

This is also narrated from Umar, Ibn Umar, and Abdullah ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhum ajma'in.

The same fatwa is given by the Fuqaha al-Sab'ah, Hasan, Jabir ibn Zayd, Maymun ibn Mihran, Tawus, al-Nakha'i, Thawri, Awza'i, Abu Hanifah, Ishaq, and Abu Ubayd rahimahum Allahu ta'ala ajma'in.

In short, prudence also demands that whatever type of trade goods there may be, zakat should be paid by considering their value. «والله اعلم»

The method of paying zakat on trade goods is that every year, the value of all trade goods in the shop or warehouse, etc., should be estimated. In addition, any money in circulation and any cash on hand should also be counted. The cash, the capital invested in the business, and the estimated value of the trade goods—all should be combined, and zakat should be paid at the rate of two and a half percent. However, if there is any trade good that was purchased but has not been sold for several years, then zakat for only one year will be paid on that good when it is sold. Similarly, if any amount is frozen in a business, as sometimes happens, and that amount remains stuck for two or three years or even longer, or if one deals with a party from whom the amount is not received for several years, then it is not necessary to pay zakat on such lost money year after year; rather, when the amount is received, zakat for one year should be paid at that time. «هذا ماعندنا واللٰه اعلم بالصواب»