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Some Rulings on the Zakah Due on Olives
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 08-11-2015

First: Zakah is Due on Olives

According to the Hanafites, the Malikites, the early statement of Ash-Shafi`e, and one narration of the Hanbalites, Zakah is due on olives because its produce can be stored away for future usage. Please refer to [Al-Hawi, vol.3/pp.505-506] by Al-Mawardi.

 

Second: The Nisaab of Olives Zakah

The Nisaab of olives Zakah is five Awsuq according to the opinion of the majority of the Muslim scholars, contrary to Abu Hanifa`s opinion as regards the Nisaab of crops and fruits. If the amount of olives was less than five Awsuq, then no Zakah is due on it, but if it was five or more, then Zakah is due on it, as indicated by the following Hadith: The Prophet (PBUH) said: "There is no Zakat on less than five Awsuq (of dates), or on less than five camels, or on less than five Awaq of silver." (22 Yemeni Riyals Faransa)" [Agreed upon].

According to modern weights and measurements, the Nisaab of olives Zakah is (611kgs.), as stated in the book, [Al-Maqadeer Ash-Shar`iah (pp.201] by Al-Kurdi. Here, what counts is the weight of the olives, not the oil.

 

Third: The Amount of the Zakah Due on Olives

On the land irrigated by rain water, Ushr (i.e. one-tenth)is compulsory as Zakah; and on the land irrigated by the well, half an Ushr (i.e. one tenth)is compulsory as Zakah paid by the owner, whether the yield was olives, or olive oil. This is indicated by the Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) who said: "On a land irrigated by rain water or by natural water channels or if the land is wet due to a nearby water channel Ushr (i.e. one-tenth) is compulsory (as Zakat); and on the land irrigated by the well, half of an Ushr (i.e. one-twentieth) is compulsory (as Zakat on the yield of the land)." [Bukhari].

 

Fourth: It is preferable that Olives Zakah is Given as Oil

Ash-Shafi`e (May Allah bless him) said, "It is permissible to give olives as Zakah, but it is preferable to give one Ushr as oil."

Kindly refer to the book: [Al-Majmou`] by An-Nawawi.

 

Fifth: Olives Zakah is to be Given by the Owner if he Sold the Fruits while on the Tree

It is impermissible to sell the olives while on the trees, save if they are obviously ripe. In this case, the Zakah is due on the owner alone, because the Zakah becomes due when the olives are ripe, and they were while in his possession. Please refer to [Moghni Al-Mohtajj, vol.4/pp.461]. However, if the owner sold the olives after they had become obviously ripe, then it is obligatory that he exclude the amount of Zakah from that deal, or to notify the purchaser in order to avoid dispute.

 

Sixth: Ruling on Exchanging Olives with Olive Oil

It is impermissible to exchange olives with olive oil; rather, it should take the form of sell and buy transaction in order to avoid usury (Riba). This is because olives are the origin of olive oil, and it is impermissible to exchange two items of the same kind. Please refer to [Al-Mohazab, vol.2/pp.37] by Ash-Shirazi and [Al-Hawee, vol.5/pp.243] by Al-Mawardi.

Seventh: It is preferable to give Zakah from the same kind on which Zakah is due. However, it is permissible to give the Zakah in cash to facilitate for the recipients and to achieve that, which is best to the poor, as indicated by the Hanafites Mazhab (Juristic school). Please refer to [Al-Ikhtiar Li`ta`leel Al-Mokhtar, vol.1/pp.102]. 

 

Eighth: The Costs of Pressing Olive Oil aren`t Deducted from its Zakah

Costs of processing the olive oil aren`t to be deducted from the Zakah due on it; rather, the Zakah should be given from the overall yield. Please refer to [Moghni Al-Mohtajj, vol.4/pp.461] by Ash-Shirbini. The proof of this is that the Islamic Sharia has differentiated the amount of the due Zakah on basis of the irrigation costs; therefore, it prescribed an Ushr (one-tenth) in case the costs of irrigation were paid by the farmer. Had all the costs of cultivation been deducted, there wouldn`t have been such a variation in the amount of the obligatory Zakah. Accordingly, the farmer either gives the Zakah from the olives yield before pressing, or from the net olive oil after pressing, and the cost of pressing the olives isn`t to be deducted from the due Zakah.

 

For More

* Ruling on Picking up Leftover and Fallen Fruits at Harvest Time
* Islamic Ruling when Owner of Olive Grove Stipulates Taking a Certain Number of Olive Oil Tins after Production
* Ruling of Islamic Law on Paying the Zakat of Olives with Old Oil

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

When does the time for the 'aqīqah lapse and pass?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
If the guardian was financially capable (mūsir) during the majority of the postnatal period (nifās) — which is sixty days — then the obligation of the 'aqīqah remains upon him until the child reaches the age of maturity (bulūgh). Once the child reaches maturity, the demand falls away from the father and those like him. At that point, it becomes Sunnah for the child himself to perform the 'aqīqah on his own behalf.
However, if the guardian was financially incapable (mu'sir) during the postnatal period, and then became financially capable after its expiry — that is, after sixty days — the 'aqīqah is no longer required of him. And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible to appoint a proxy for the sacrificial offering outside Jordan?

In the name of Allah; all praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible to appoint a proxy—whether an individual or a charitable organization—to perform the sacrificial slaughter (Udhiyah) on one’s behalf, even if it is carried out in a country other than that of the donor. This is conditional upon the proxy’s adherence to the established requirements of the Udhiyah, including the animal’s age, its freedom from physical defects, the designated timing of the slaughter, and the proper distribution of the meat.
However, it is preferable for the one offering the sacrifice to perform the slaughter personally, in order to attain the full reward and blessings of the act. And Allah (Exalted be He) knows best.

What is the ruling on making up missed fasts from many years?

A Muslim must make up for any missed fasts, as they are a debt owed to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said:
"The debt owed to Allah is more deserving of being fulfilled." [Narrated by Muslim]
Whoever has missed fasts must make them up as long as they are alive and capable of fasting.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.