Source:
Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Page 570
Question:
A farmer wishes to pay ʿUshr (the agricultural Zakat) on his produce. However, he incurred various expenses, such as:
◈ Seed cost
◈ Fertilizer
◈ Tube-well irrigation
◈ Canal tax or land revenue
◈ Labor wages
◈ Tractor or ploughing expenses (whether by machine or animals)
◈ Harvesting, threshing, and transportation costs
The question is:
Should ʿUshr be paid on the total produce, or after deducting these expenses?
And if some expenses are deducted while others are not, what is the correct Sharʿī position?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Sharʿī Ruling
◈ ʿUshr must be calculated on the total agricultural produce, not after deducting the general farming expenses.
Only governmental land tax or revenue (lagān / māliyah) may be deducted before paying ʿUshr.
◈ The other listed expenses — such as seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, labor wages, or transport — cannot be subtracted, as there is no allowance in Sharīʿah for these deductions.
◈ However, if the land requires artificial irrigation (e.g., tube-wells, mechanical water systems), then the rate of ʿUshr is reduced to half (i.e., one-twentieth), according to explicit prophetic instruction.
Clarification by Mufti ʿAbdullāh Rūprī رحمه الله (India–Pakistan)
Mawlānā Rūprī رحمه الله writes:
“There are two types of laborers:
One category is essential for agriculture, such as blacksmiths and carpenters — those without whom farming cannot function, as they prepare and repair the tools of cultivation.
The wages of such necessary workers may be treated like the payment for tools or ploughing equipment.
However, other general expenses that are not indispensable should not be deducted.
This, in our opinion, is the correct view.”
Summary
✔ ʿUshr must be paid on the total yield, not the net profit after expenses.
✔ Only government tax or lagān may be deducted.
✔ Essential labor (for tool repair and similar unavoidable services) may be treated as part of basic equipment costs.
✔ On rain-fed land (barānī) — where natural water is used — pay one-tenth (10%).
✔ On artificially irrigated land — using wells, pumps, or tube-wells — pay one-twentieth (5%).
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
