❖ Question:
Is ʿUshr (agricultural zakāt) obligatory on vegetables according to the Hadith?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
✿ Answer:
The scholars are in consensus (ijmāʿ) that ʿUshr (zakāt) is not obligatory on vegetables.
❀ Imām Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim bin Sallām رحمه الله (d. 224H) said:
العلماء اليوم مجمعون من أهل العراق، والحجاز، والشام على أن لا صدقة في قليل الخضر ولا في كثيرها، إذا كانت في أرض العشر
“The scholars of Iraq, Ḥijāz, and Shām are unanimous that there is no zakāt on vegetables, whether small or large in quantity, even if they grow in the land subject to ʿushr.”
(Kitāb al-Amwāl: 502)
Sayyidunā Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ليس فيما دون خمسة أوسق صدقة
“There is no zakāt on produce less than five wasqs.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1484; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 979)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله (d. 388H) explained:
This ḥadīth is used as evidence by those who say zakāt is not obligatory on vegetables, because they are not measured in wasqs. The hadith shows zakāt is due only on what is measured and stored, such as grains and dates, not on fruits, vegetables, etc., which are not measured. The majority of scholars hold this view, except Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله, who held that zakāt is also due on vegetables.
(Maʿālim al-Sunan: 2/14)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله (d. 852H) wrote:
Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله transmitted ijmāʿ that there is no ʿushr on agricultural produce less than five wasqs, except according to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله, who said every cultivated produce intended for growth of the land is subject to ʿushr, except wood, bamboo, hemp, and trees that bear no fruit.
(Fatḥ al-Bārī: 3/350)
When the great Tābiʿī Maymūn bin Mihrān رحمه الله was asked about zakāt on vegetables, he replied:
ليس فيها زكاة، حتى تباع، فإذا بيعت وبلغت مائتي درهم، فإن فيها خمسة دراهم
“There is no zakāt on vegetables until they are sold. If they are sold and reach two hundred dirhams (the niṣāb), then five dirhams zakāt is due.”
(Kitāb al-Amwāl: 502 – with a ḥasan chain)
◈ Analysis of the Evidence of Those Who Obligated Zakāt on All Produce
They cite the report:
فيما سقت السماء العشر، وفيما سقي بنضح، أو غرب، نصف العشر، في قليله وكثيره
“On produce watered by rain is due one-tenth; and on what is watered by animals or wells is half of one-tenth, whether little or much.”
(al-Taḥqīq fī al-Masā’il – Ibn al-Jawzī: 962; Naṣb al-Rāyah – al-Zaylaʿī: 2/385)
But this narration is weak:
① It contains Abū Muṭīʿ, a severely weak narrator with no authentication.
② His teacher, Abān bin Abī ʿAyyāsh, is unanimously considered weak and abandoned.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله said:
هذا إسناد لا يساوي شيئا
“This isnād is worthless.”
(al-Taḥqīq fī Masā’il al-Khilāf: 962)
Claims of corroboration from al-Bazzār’s Musnad are incorrect; the chain contains an unknown narrator.
Thus, the claim that zakāt is obligatory on every type of agricultural produce without exception is baseless and unsupported.
❀ Al-Ḥakam bin ʿUtaybah رحمه الله said:
فيما حفظنا عن أصحابنا أنهم كانوا يقولون: وليس في شيء من هذا شيء إلا في الحنطة والشعير والتمر والربيب
“We remember from our companions that they used to say: There is no zakāt on any produce except wheat, barley, dates, and raisins.”
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 3/139 – with a ṣaḥīḥ chain)
Conclusion:According to the consensus of the majority of scholars and the clear evidence of ḥadīth, no ʿushr is due on vegetables, unless they are sold and the money reaches the zakāt niṣāb. Only grains and staple fruits (like wheat, barley, dates, and raisins) are subject to ʿushr.
