Complete Explanation: Does Ushr Decrease After Paying Agricultural Debt?
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil, Volume 1, Page 269
❖ Question
A person has 260 man of wheat. He spent on commission, fertilizer, seeds, bills, etc., and repaid debts equal to 200 man of wheat. The question is: Will ʿUshr be obligatory on the entire 260 man of wheat, or only on the remaining 60 man?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
In this case, the Sharʿī ruling is that ʿUshr is obligatory on the entire 260 man of wheat, not just the remaining 60 man.
The reason is that in Sharīʿah, only the expense of water is considered in determining the amount of ʿUshr. On this basis:
◈ In rain-fed land (irrigated by rainfall or natural springs), the full ʿUshr (one-tenth) is obligatory.
◈ In well-irrigated land (where water is drawn out for irrigation), half of ʿUshr (one-twentieth) is obligatory.
Other expenses—such as fertilizer, seeds, commission, or bills—are not taken into account when calculating ʿUshr. Hence, wheat used for paying debts cannot be exempted from ʿUshr.
❖ Aḥādīth
❀ «عَنْ عَبْدِ اﷲِ رضی اللہ عنہ عَنِ النَّبِیِّ ﷺ اَنَّه قَالَ : فِيْمَا سَقَتِ السَّمَآئُ وَالْعُيُوْنُ اَوْ کَانَ عَثَرِيًّا اَلْعُشْرُ وَمَا سُقِیَ بِالنَّضْحِ : نِصْفُ الْعُشْرِ»
(Bukhārī – Bāb al-ʿUshr fīmā yusqā min māʾ as-samāʾ al-jārī, Kitāb az-Zakāh)
“ʿAbdullāh (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: The crop watered by rainfall, streams, or natural moisture will have ʿUshr (one-tenth) due on it, and that irrigated with drawn water will have half of ʿUshr (one-twentieth).”
❀ «لَيْسَ فِيْمَا اَقَلَّ مِنْ خَمْسَةِ اَوْسُقٍ صَدَقَةٌ»
(Bukhārī – Kitāb az-Zakāh, Bāb laysa fīmā dūna khamsati awsuq ṣadaqah)
“There is no Zakāt (ʿUshr) on produce less than five wasq.”
Note: One wasq = 60 ṣāʿ, and one ṣāʿ ≈ 2100 grams. Thus, five wasq = 630 kilograms, i.e., about 15 man 30 kilograms.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
