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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 Udhiyah begin?

 
In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The permissible timeframe for Udhiyah (sacrificial offering) begins on the day of Eid al-Adha—the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah—once the sun has risen and a period of time sufficient to perform two brief prayer units (Rak'ahs) and two short sermons (Khutbahs) has passed. This window remains open until the sun sets on the final day of Tashreeq, which is the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah.
 
Our Master, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), said: "Every valley of Mina is a place of sacrifice, and slaughtering may be done throughout all the days of Tashreeq." (Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Hibban)
 
The days of Tashreeq refer to the 11th, 12th, and 13th of Dhul-Hijjah.
 
The most virtuous time to perform the sacrifice is immediately after concluding the Eid prayer, based on the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The first thing we do on this day of ours is to pray, then we return and offer our sacrifice. Whoever does that has acted in accordance with our Sunnah (tradition), and whoever slaughters before that, it is merely meat he has provided for his family; it has nothing to do with the ritual sacrifice." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
 
What is meant here is an estimation of time rather than the actual performance of the prayer itself, as our Master, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), used to offer the Eid al-Adha prayer immediately after sunrise.
 
The sacrifice is valid if performed at any time during these designated days, whether by day or by night, though slaughtering at night is considered disliked (Makruh). And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

My brother works in a conventional bank and gave me one of the gifts distributed to bank employees — what is the ruling on accepting it?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no objection to accepting such gifts, because the physical gift itself does not carry any inherent prohibition — unlike stolen property. Sin does not transfer or extend to the one who receives the gift, for Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another." [Al-Anʿām/164]
The evidence for this is that the Prophet ﷺ himself ate from the food of the Jews, conducted transactions with them, and purchased from them — and it is well known that their wealth was intermingled with ribā. Similarly, the wealth of conventional ribā-based banks is a mixture of the lawful and the unlawful.
Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "It is not forbidden to transact with one whose wealth is predominantly unlawful, nor to eat from it — as al-Nawawī affirmed in al-Majmūʿ." [Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 9/P.389] And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on waiving a debt owed by a debtor and counting it toward zakāh?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Waiving a debt owed by a debtor, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh, does not fulfill the zakāh obligation. Rather, it constitutes an ordinary act of charity, for which Allah rewards the giver generously — since one of the conditions for the validity of zakāh is that the person paying it must form the intention of zakāh at the actual moment the wealth is paid out. In this case, the debt has already been established as a standing obligation upon the borrower, so it is not valid to simply redirect the intention toward zakāh after the fact.
It is preferable, instead, for the creditor to first collect the debt from the debtor, and then return to him the amount of money he is required to pay as zakāh — or a portion of it — if the debtor happens to fall under one of the eight categories that Allah, the Exalted, has commanded be given from zakāh.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on the prayer of one who said "Subḥāna Rabbiya al-ʿAẓīm" in prostration (*sujūd*) and forgot to correct it?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Saying “Subḥāna Rabbiya al-ʿAẓīm” in bowing (rukūʿ) and “Subḥāna Rabbiya al-Aʿlā” in prostration (sujūd) is one of the hayʾāt (non-essential sunnahs) of the prayer. Whoever omits it, whether deliberately or by forgetfulness, or replaces it with another remembrance (dhikr), his prayer is valid and he does not perform sujūd al-sahw. Shaykh al-Islām Imam al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Our school holds that one does not prostrate for omitting the audible or silent recitation, the tasbīḥ, and the rest of the hayʾāt.” [al-Majmūʿ, Vol.4/p.127]
If he performs sujūd al-sahw for something that does not call for it, his prayer is invalidated, because he introduced a prostration of forgetfulness without a cause, and he must repeat the prayer. The exception is one who did so out of forgetfulness or ignorance, whether because he recently entered Islam or because he lives far from scholars; he is excused and his prayer is not invalidated.
It is stated in Mughni al-Muḥtāj (Vol.1/p.417): “It is stated in al-Anwār: If he does something that does not call for sujūd al-sahw, thinking that it does, and then prostrates, his prayer is not invalidated if he is ignorant because he recently entered Islam or because he is far from scholars.”
Since this issue is hidden from the laity, as it is among the subtleties of knowledge, and the laity are excused for ignorance of whatever is of such a nature, and their act of obedience is not invalidated because of it, it may be said that the prayer of one who has not acquired knowledge of the issue is not invalidated. As for after knowing it, the prayer is invalidated.
Whoever realizes while still in the prayer that his prostration was out of place, it is sunnah for him to perform sujūd al-sahw. And Allah Almighty knows best.

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