Zakat on camels, cows, sheep and goats is obligatory.
[Zakat is obliged on what was mentioned. That is stated by Malikis since the Prophet said, "There is no zakat owed by a Muslim on his horses or slaves." The apparent words of the author is that zakat is obliged on livestock absolutely, foddered or work animals. It is the School. According to Abu Hanifa and ash-ShafiÔi, there is no zakat on work animals since he said, "There is zakat on grazing sheep." He begins with the obligation of zakat on camels to follow the hadith since the Prophet did that in the letter on zakat written for ÔAmr ibn Hazm. There are 11 obligations in its zakat, four of which are taken from a different species, sheep, and seven which are taken from camels.]
There is no zakat on less than five camels but on five to nine camels you must give either a sheep or a goat which is in its second year depending on which of the two animals is most commonly kept by the people of the area.
[When it reaches this number, one owes a sheep which has been alive for one year and begun the next. There is no difference between the male and female sheep or goat. The judgement is based on what is common. If it is sheep, it is taken from sheep. If it is goats, it is taken from them. If the owner of the property gives a camel instead of the obliged sheep, it is permissible because it is of the same type of property and is worth more than is what is obliged of him. The limit for a single sheep is nine. So the shortfall (waqs) is four, which is the smallest waqs. ]
You must give two sheep or goats for ten to fourteen camels and three sheep or goats for fifteen to nineteen camels. For twenty to twenty-five camels you must give four sheep or goats.
[The shortfall in each of these categories are four.]
For twenty-five to thirty-five camels you must give a female camel in its second year (bint makhad) or if there is not one available a male camel in its third year (ibn labun).
[It appears that it has completed two years, and elsewhere it states that it has begun the second year. It is called bint makhad because its mother has given birth because the camel is pregnant for a year and cares for the young for a year. If there are none available or it is damaged, then it is necessary to take a male which has completed the second year and begun the third. If there is neither, the collector charges him for a bint makhad, whether he likes it or not, and then makes the judgement of the absence of both of them like that of their existence. Then he comes with a ibn labun at that point, it is up to the collector to do what he thinks best. If he thinks it right, he takes it. Otherwise he obliges him the bint makhad.]
For thirty-six to forty-five camels you must give a female camel aged between two and five years (bint labun).
[The shortfall in this is ten. What is meant is not having lived three full years, but what has two full years and begun the third. The shortfall at the end is 9.]
For forty-six to sixty camels you must give a female camel in its fourth year capable of carrying loads and bearing children (hiqqa).
[If he pays it with two bint labuns, that does not satisfy it, even if they are equal in their value to its value as opposed to the view ash-Shafi'i. What is meant is what has completed its third year and begun its fourth. The shortfall in this obligation is 14.]
For sixty-one to seventy-five camels you must give a female camel in its fifth year (jadh'a).
[Then after this the obligation changes. What is meant is one which has completed its fourth year and begun the fifth. It is the last of the categories taken for paying the zakat of camels. The shortfall is 14.]
For seventy-six to ninety camels you must give two female camels in their third year (bint labun).
[The shortfall is 14.]
For ninety-one to one hundred and twenty camels you must give two hiqqas.
[The shortfall is 29. ]
For any more than this you give one hiqqa for every fifty camels and one bint labun for every forty.
[For more than 120, the obligation is this.]
There is no zakat on less than thirty cattle.
[Its nisab is 30. Forty and more are su bject.]
If there are thirty you must give one in its third year (tabi').
[30 to 40 have a calf in its third year, which is called that because it follows its mother. It is would appear from the words that it is a precondition that it be male, but that is not the case. The well-known position is that it is not a precondition. It must have completed two years.]
This applies up to forty. If there are forty you must give a cow in its fourth year (musinna or thaniyya) - only females are acceptable.
[When the number reaches forty, the obligation changes. One owes a cow in the fourth year, and it is only taken in females. If there is no four year old cow, its owner is compelled to bring it unless he gives better than it, which is a five year cow. The musinna has full four years according to Ibn Habib and 'Abdu'l-Wahhab.]
If there are more than that you must give a musinna for every forty and a tabi' for every thirty.
[If there are five more than forty, there is nothing on it. If it reaches 50, there is nothing on the ten in our view. When it reaches 60, there are two tabi' on them. If it reaches 70,there is a tabi' and a musinna. If it reaches 80, there are two musinna. What is more goes according to its rule.]
There is no zakat on sheep and goats until their number reaches forty. If you passes forty you must give one in its fifth year (jadh'a) or one in its fourth year (thaniyya). This applies up to one hundred and twenty animals.
[Neither male or female is specified. Ibn 'Umar said that it was clarified in the nisab of camels.]
If you have between one hundred and twenty and two hundred sheep and/or goats you must give two.
[So the shortfall is 80. Then he indicates the second obligation and its shortfall here is 79.]
For two hundred and one to three hundred you must give three and for every additional hundred you give one animal.
[He said in al-Jallab, in what is more than 300, there is a sheep for every 100. For 399 there are three sheep and for 400 there are four sheep and for 500 there are five sheep and so forth. ]
Zakat is not required on any number of animals between the figures mentioned and this ruling applies to all the types of animals mentioned above.
[Then he explains the judgement of the shortfall between the obligations, saying that there is no zakat on the shortfalls. The shortfall is what falls short of the nisab. It is a technical term for all the types of livestock.]
Sheep and goats are considered as one category for zakat purposes
[This is by consensus. That is what he said in at-Tahqiq because the name of the species includes both of them in the words of the Prophet. So there is a sheep for every forty goats.]
as are cattle and buffaloes
[This is by agreement because the generic name includes them all, as the Prophet said, "There is a tabi' in every 30.]
and also Bactrian and dromedary camels.
[These are the camels of the people of Khorasan since camel is used for both of them in the words of the Prophet.]
The owners of herds which are mixed together pay zakat jointly and settle between themselves the share each must pay.
[This is according to the number of animals. That partnership on which it is obliged has the following preconditions: it is taken from the two owners as it is taken from one owner in amount, age, and category as was mentioned. If each of three has forty sheep, then one sheep is obliged, each owing a third. The example of the second is that when each has 36 camels and then a jadh'a is obliged and each owes a half. The third is that one has 80 sheep and the other 40 goats, and one sheep is obliged, two thirds from one and one-third from the other.
The benefit of partnership can be lightening as when each has forty sheep. On their own, they would each owe one sheep, and together they owe only one sheep. It could make it heavier as when each has 120 sheep and each of them would only owe one sheep, but they owe three sheep when they are together. Or it may have no benefit, as when each has 100 sheep and each alone would owe one, and it is the same together. A precondition for the two owners being like one is that each of them has a nisab.]
When the zakat of the year is due, animals which were mixed together are not to be separated nor those which were separate to be mixed out of fear of paying the zakat.
[That is when the end of the year approaches. Ibn Shash said that that is when joining or separaing would reduce the zakat. ]
If the zakat paid is less because the two herds were separated or mixed, the herds should be restored to their prior condition.
[When it is done to avoid more zakat. As when two men each have a hundred, and so they separate at the end of the year and two sheep are obliged. The obligation on them is three. It is the same for joining: three men each has forty and they join at the end of the year so that one sheep is obliged on them: the obligation on them is three sheep.]
There is no zakat due from someone whose share does not reach the number subject to zakat.
[Because of the words of the Prophet, "There is no zakat on less than five camels." They must be liable for zakat (and so they are not slaves or unbelievers) and the animals have the same stud, shepherd, resting place at night, pasturage, watering-place and milking place, and the partnership is by friendship, not avoidance of zakat.]
A baby sheep or goat is not taken to pay zakat. However, it is counted in numbering the owner's flock. Baby calves or camels are not taken, but they are counted in numbering the herd. Similarly, exempt from being taken as zakat are young billy goats, thin old females, pregnant females, a ram used for stud, a sheep or goat fattened for slaughter, a female nursing its young, nor the best of a man's property.
[Zakat is not taken from the best or worst of a man's property. One is to protect the rights of the wealthy and the other to protect the rights of poor. If the owner gives the best cheerfully, it is permitted. If he gives the worst, it is not acceptable. If all the property is good or bad, he is obliged the middle. If he refuses, he is forced to pay it.]
For zakat on animals, one may not collect goods or the price of the animal in place of the animal. If the collector forces the owner into giving the price of the animal or something else, that satisfies it, Allah willing.
[Something else would be like grains. Ibn al-Hajib states that paying the price voluntarily does not satisfy it. But it is taken by force, then it satisfies it in the well-known position.]
A debt does not cancel one's obligation to pay zakat on grain, fruit or animals.
[It was mentioned earlier.]
SUPPLEMENT about a number of important questions:
[1. He must pay it with the intention of paying zakat. If he pays it without the intention of paying zakat, it does not satisfy it unless he is forced, and then the intention of the forcer is enough.
2. It is not transferred from the place in which it is obliged unless there is no one there to pay it to. Then it is transferred to the closest place to it.
3. It is paid at the time when is obliged. If it is delayed, it is allowed but he commits something unlawful.
4. He pays it in its eight categories which Allah Almighty mentioned when He says, "Collected sadaqa is for: the poor, the destitute, those who collect it, bringing people's hearts together, freeing slaves, those in debt, spending in the way of Allah, and travellers." (9:60)]