Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in Al-Mabsut

As-Sarakhsi's treatment of zakah, fasting, and hajj in Al-Mabsut provides the most comprehensive Hanafi analysis of these three pillars of Islam available in the classical literature. His engagement with the hadith evidence, his comparative analysis with other schools, and his systematic application of Hanafi legal principles make Al-Mabsut's coverage of these topics the definitive advanced reference.

The zakah sections of Al-Mabsut cover all categories with extraordinary detail. As-Sarakhsi's treatment of agricultural zakah is particularly notable for its comprehensive coverage of the Hanafi school's broad application of the obligation: all agricultural produce is subject to zakah, without a minimum nisab threshold, at rates of 10% (natural irrigation) or 5% (artificial irrigation). He engages with the other schools' more restricted application and provides the Hanafi reasoning: the prophetic command on produce was not limited to specific crops, and the Hanafi school reads the command broadly.

The treatment of zakah on trade goods in Al-Mabsut addresses the conditions for when trade goods become subject to zakah, how they are valued, and how the nisab is calculated when a merchant holds a mixture of goods, cash, and receivable debts. As-Sarakhsi's analysis of the trade goods zakah reflects the Hanafi school's sophisticated engagement with commercial realities in the complex economic environment of medieval Islamic society.

For fasting, Al-Mabsut presents the Hanafi positions with full engagement with the hadith evidence on each point. As-Sarakhsi's analysis of the intention requirement — that it may be formed any time before midday — draws on the hadith from 'A'isha that indicates the Prophet (peace be upon him) formed an intention to fast after the dawn. He engages with the counter-position that intention must be formed before dawn and explains the Hanafi interpretive preference for the more flexible reading.

The sections on the kaffara (expiation) for deliberate fast-breaking in Al-Mabsut are among the most detailed treatments of this topic in the fiqh literature. As-Sarakhsi analyzes the three sequential options — freeing a slave, fasting sixty days, feeding sixty poor persons — and addresses numerous edge cases: What if the person cannot fast the sixty days due to illness? What if he starts the sixty-day fast and becomes ill? How is 'feeding sixty poor persons' calculated? His responses reflect the Hanafi school's methodical application of legal principles to the full range of practical circumstances.

Hajj in Al-Mabsut covers the complete sequence of pilgrimage rites with Hanafi specificity. As-Sarakhsi addresses the Hanafi classification of sa'y as wajib (necessary) rather than rukn (pillar) and explains the distinction: sa'y is obligatory, and its deliberate omission requires a compensatory sacrifice (dam), but its omission — unlike that of a pillar — does not void the hajj entirely. He engages with the Maliki and Shafi'i classification of sa'y as a pillar and explains the different evidential interpretations that produce different classifications.