Zakat and Sawm in the Hanafi School

Al-Mawsili's chapter on zakah in Al-Ikhtiyar presents the Hanafi school's comprehensive treatment of this pillar, notable for some distinctive positions that differ from other schools. The Hanafi school requires that the owner be Muslim, free, sane, adult (baligh), and that the wealth reach the nisab and remain in their ownership for a full lunar year. The Hanafi school adds the condition that the wealth be 'growing' (nama') in nature — either actually growing (like livestock and crops) or potentially growing (like cash, gold, and silver that could be invested).

A significant Hanafi distinction concerns the combination (khalt) of gold and silver when calculating the nisab. The Hanafi school permits — indeed requires — that gold and silver be combined when determining whether the nisab has been reached, valuing one against the other. This means that a person who owns 100 grams of gold and 200 grams of silver, each below its own nisab, must combine their values and pay zakah if the total value equals the nisab of silver. This differs from the Shafi'i school, which does not permit this combination.

For trade goods, the Hanafi school similarly uses the silver nisab as the threshold, assessing the value of trade inventory at the end of the hawl year. Al-Mawsili notes the subtlety that the Hanafi school assesses trade goods at their market value at the time of assessment, not at their original purchase price, ensuring that zakah reflects actual current wealth.

A prominent Hanafi position on zakah concerns the validity of paying zakah in monetary value (qimah) rather than the specified commodity. The Hanafi school permits — and in some cases recommends — paying the monetary equivalent of zakah, allowing a person to pay the cash value of their zakah on crops or livestock rather than the physical commodity. This position has significant practical implications in modern contexts. Other schools generally restrict zakah to the specific commodities mentioned in the hadiths.

For the fast of Ramadan (sawm), Al-Ikhtiyar presents the Hanafi school's relatively accommodating position on intention. The Hanafi school permits the intention for a Ramadan fast to be formed at any point before midday (after sunrise), not necessarily during the previous night. This is based on the hadith of 'A'ishah in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) formed an intention to fast mid-morning (reported by Muslim). This differs from the Shafi'i requirement of a nighttime intention.

The fast's nullifiers are treated systematically. Unique Hanafi positions include: deliberate throat-clearing and swallowing the resulting phlegm does not break the fast (a lenient position); swallowing smoke from incense breaks the fast (a strict position); applying kohl (antimony eye liner) does not break the fast even if it reaches the throat through the tear ducts (a lenient position adopted based on the prophetic practice of using kohl during fasting, reported in Abu Dawud).

I'tikaf (seclusion in the mosque) is treated as a sunnah mu'akkadah (strongly recommended sunnah) during the last ten days of Ramadan, based on the consistent practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Al-Mawsili notes that the Hanafi school requires a mosque with congregational prayers for valid i'tikaf, unlike the Shafi'i school which permits i'tikaf in any mosque.