Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … These three ahadith are extremely noteworthy in this regard, that nowadays it is commonly said that one-twentieth of the crop from canal-irrigated land and one-tenth of the crop from rain-fed land should be given as zakat. However, from these ahadith it is understood that the rate of zakat for crops irrigated by springs, canals, and rivers is also one-tenth. The fundamental issue is that the determination between one-tenth and one-twentieth depends on the effort expended in watering the crops. If a waterwheel (charakhi) or Persian wheel (rahat) is used for irrigation, or water is drawn with buckets, or water is transported on animals to irrigate the crops, then one-twentieth of such a crop will be given as zakat. If tube wells or turbines, etc., are used, or if laborers are employed to irrigate the land, then the ruling of one-twentieth will also apply, because these are substitutes for manual effort, which is obtained by spending money.

Now, if a piece of land is so close to a canal or spring that no significant effort is required to obtain water, and the only responsibility of the landowner is to direct the water into his land, then one-tenth of the produce of such land must be given, because in the aforementioned ahadith, the canals and springs mentioned also require at least this much effort to irrigate the land. Here, it is necessary to clarify that the amount paid by landowners for canal water is so negligible that it cannot be associated with the one-tenth or one-twentieth portion of zakat. For example, in 2012, a landowner told me that he pays fifty rupees per acre per year for canal water. And if a piece of land is so far from the canal that a great deal of effort is required to bring water to the land by preparing channels, etc., then one-twentieth of its produce will be given. Facilities and matters such as machinery, fertilizer, spraying, wages of employees, or the wages of cobblers and barbers, etc., have absolutely no connection with the one-tenth or one-twentieth portion of zakat.