Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in At-Tahdhib

The chapters on the financial and ritual pillars in at-Tahdhib present the Maliki positions on zakah, sawm, and hajj in Al-Baradii's systematic format, making these positions more accessible than in Al-Mudawwanah's question-and-answer presentation.

On zakah, at-Tahdhib covers the five categories with their Maliki-specific features. The Maliki school's combination of gold and silver for the nisab is presented clearly: a person who has gold and silver that together equal the minimum threshold in value is subject to zakah, even if neither metal individually reaches its nisab. The rate of 2.5% applies to the combined total.

For agricultural produce, at-Tahdhib presents the Maliki positions on the range of crops subject to zakah, which is broader than in some other schools. The Maliki rule — that any crop cultivated for food that can be dried and stored is subject to zakah if it reaches five awsuq at harvest — is applied systematically to the crops of the Maliki world: wheat, barley, dates, raisins, olives (in pressed form), and other stored foods.

The kaffarah for deliberately breaking the Ramadan fast receives particular attention in at-Tahdhib's presentation of the Maliki position. The Maliki school's extension of kaffarah to all deliberate nullifiers — not only intercourse — is stated clearly, along with the three-stage sequence: freeing a slave, then fasting two consecutive months, then feeding sixty poor persons. Al-Baradii presents the evidential basis for the Maliki extension by analogy from the specific hadith case.

On hajj, at-Tahdhib presents the Maliki positions on the miqat boundaries and the sequence of rites. The Maliki school's specific positions on the points of difference from other schools — such as the Maliki view on the order of rites on the Day of Sacrifice and the rulings on making mistakes in the order — are presented in the systematic format that makes the work useful for students preparing for or guiding others through the pilgrimage.

At-Tahdhib also covers the obligations of zakah in cases that Al-Mudawwanah addressed in scattered question-and-answer exchanges, reorganizing them into a coherent account of the Maliki positions on zakah for merchants, livestock owners, and farmers in the North African and Andalusian context.