Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in Al-Kafi

The chapters on zakah, sawm, and hajj in al-Kafi present the Maliki positions with the hadith grounding that characterizes Ibn Abd al-Barr's approach, making the text valuable both as a legal reference and as an introduction to the evidential basis of Maliki law.

On zakah, al-Kafi covers the standard Maliki positions with their evidential basis. The nisabs for gold, silver, livestock, and agricultural produce are each grounded in the relevant prophetic hadiths and the practice transmitted by the Companions. Ibn Abd al-Barr's mastery of hadith allows him to note which hadiths on zakah are sound, which are disputed, and how Malik navigated the evidential landscape in determining the school's positions.

The Maliki school's distinctive extension of kaffarah to all deliberate nullifiers of the Ramadan fast is grounded in al-Kafi by reference to the underlying principle: the prophetic hadith establishing kaffarah for intercourse demonstrates that the sanctity of the Ramadan fast is protected by a severe expiation, and the Maliki school extends this protection by analogy to all deliberate violations. Ibn Abd al-Barr presents this reasoning and notes the contrary positions of scholars who restrict kaffarah to intercourse alone.

For hajj, al-Kafi presents the Maliki positions on the forms of ihram, the miqat boundaries, and the rites with their evidential basis in the hadith of the Prophet's Farewell Pilgrimage. Ibn Abd al-Barr draws heavily on the comprehensive hadiths that describe the Prophet's own hajj — particularly the detailed account in Sahih Muslim — to ground the Maliki positions on the specific rites and their performance.

On zakah al-fitr, al-Kafi presents the Maliki requirement of food rather than cash with the hadith of Ibn Umar, which specifies the food types that the Prophet required. Ibn Abd al-Barr discusses the scholars' debate about whether the food types mentioned in the hadith are illustrative or exhaustive, and presents Malik's position that the obligation is to provide food of the local staple type, not necessarily one of the hadith's specific types.

The chapter on voluntary fasting presents the Maliki positions on the recommended fasts of the year: the six days of Shawwal (on which Malik was reluctant to recommend fasting because he feared people would think them obligatory), the Day of Arafah for non-pilgrims, the Day of Ashura, and the fasts of the months of Rajab and Sha'ban. Ibn Abd al-Barr presents Malik's distinctive caution about some of these fasts and the hadith evidence for each.