Zakat al-Kharij min al-Ard
- Author died
- 1440 AH
- Editions
- Matba'at Safeer
Zakat al-Kharij min al-Ard (Zakat on Produce of the Earth) is a concise legal treatise on the Islamic jurisprudence of zakat on agricultural crops, fruits, minerals, and buried treasure, authored by the Saudi scholar Saeed bin Ali bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE) .
Composition and Context
The work was written as a dedicated monograph (Treatise No. 45 in the author's published series of treatises) and completed on the morning of Wednesday, 13 Safar 1426 AH . It also forms the ninth core section within al-Qahtani’s comprehensive five-volume compendium, al-Zakat fi al-Islam fi Daw' al-Kitab wa-l-Sunnah (Zakat in Islam in the Light of the Quran and Sunnah) . In compiling the treatise, the author draws upon classical juristic literature and frequently references the legal preferences and rulings of his teacher, Shaykh Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baz .
Content and Method
The treatise systematically examines the legal rulings governing zakat on items extracted from the earth according to evidence from the Quran, the prophetic Sunnah, and scholarly consensus (ijma'):
- Obligation and Scope: Establishes the obligation of paying zakat on grains and fruits based on verses such as يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْفِقُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ وَمِمَّا أَخْرَجْنَا لَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ ("O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned and from that which We have produced for you from the earth") and وَآتُوا حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ ("And give its due upon harvest day"), as well as prophetic hadiths and consensus on staples like wheat, barley, dates, and raisins .
- Conditions of Obligation: Outlines the legal prerequisites for zakat on crops, which include that the produce must be grain or fruit, measurable by volume (makil), storable without spoiling (muddakhar), cultivated through human cultivation on owned land, and reaching the minimum threshold (nisab) of five awsuq (300 prophetic *sa'*s) after drying and winnowing . Perishable produce and fresh vegetables are excluded from agricultural zakat .
- Combination of Produce: Clarifies that distinct varieties within the same genus (such as different types of dates or wheat) harvested within a single year are combined to complete the nisab, whereas different genera (such as dates and raisins, or wheat and barley) are not combined .
- Timing of Obligation: Explains that the obligation attaches when grains harden and fruits show signs of ripening (badw al-salah), but the liability only settles firmly once produce is placed in the drying yard (al-jarin) or threshing floor (al-baydar) .
- Prescribed Rates: Discusses the differing rates of zakat due—specifically one-tenth (10%) for produce watered without financial burden or machinery (such as rainfall, springs, and naturally underground-watered vegetation) and half of a tenth (5%) for produce irrigated through artificial labor or mechanical watering devices .
- Estimation and Mineral Rulings: Covers the legal rulings on crop assessment (kharas) of palm and grape harvests, as well as the rules governing zakat on extracted minerals (ma'din) and ancient buried treasures (rikaz) .
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