Tirmidhi

English Commentary:
1:
That is, the entire wealth would be exhausted by giving zakat.

2:
These people say that this is contrary to the hadith: ((The pen has been lifted from three: the child, the insane, and the sleeping)), and they respond to the hadith by saying that in ((ta’kulahu al-sadaqah)), “sadaqah” refers to maintenance (nafaqah).

Note:
(In the chain of narration, Mathna ibn al-Sabbah is weak; in the latter part of his life, he also became confused in narration.)

Lexical Explanation:
«مَنْ وَلِ» is on the pattern of yafa‘alu from Bab «عَلِم يَعْلَمُ», and is a well-known active verb form. The meaning is: the person who becomes a guardian and caretaker. And with the shaddah (emphasis) on the letter lām, it is also read with the passive verb form.
«فَلْيَتَّحِر» is from Bab Iftial, derived from tijārah (trade).
«وَلَا يَتْرُكْهُ» is a prohibitive verb form, meaning: do not let the orphan’s wealth remain idle in this way.
«حَتّٰي تَاَكُلَهُ الصَّدَقَةُ» means that only zakat consumes it, i.e., year after year zakat becomes obligatory on it, and gradually the entire property is paid out in this way. From this, it is proven that zakat is obligatory on the wealth of an orphan, even though he is not yet legally responsible (mukallaf) in the Shariah. If it were not obligatory, then how could there be a fear of the orphan’s wealth being depleted? This is the opinion of the majority (jumhur), and this is the correct position.

Benefit:
Our esteemed researcher has declared the mentioned narration weak in terms of its chain of transmission. And the supporting narration that Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has mentioned is also considered weak. However, the legal issue stated in the mentioned narration is correct and preferred, even though there is a difference of opinion among scholars and jurists as to whether zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan or not. This position is also supported by the fact that such eminent Companions as Umar, Ali, Abdullah ibn Umar, Aisha, and Jabir ibn Abdullah radi Allahu anhum ajma‘in were also of the opinion that zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan.
Maulana Abdur Rahman Mubarakpuri rahimahullah writes regarding this that there is no statement from any Companion, with an authentic chain, negating zakat on the wealth of a child. See: [تحفة الاحوذي : 15/2]
Thus, the position of the Companions radi Allahu anhum is also that zakat should be taken out from the wealth of an orphan, and this is also the position of the majority of scholars.
The Hanafis, who do not consider zakat obligatory on the wealth of an orphan, say that the payment of sadaqat al-fitr is necessary from the orphan’s wealth. Similarly, the payment of ‘ushr (one-tenth) from agricultural produce is also necessary, even though there is no Shariah basis for this distinction: that ‘ushr should be taken from the orphan’s agricultural produce, but his other wealth should be exempted.