Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in Bada'i as-Sana'i

Al-Kasani's treatment of zakah, fasting, and hajj in Bada'i as-Sana'i applies his systematic method to the remaining three pillars of Islam, producing clear and navigable accounts of Hanafi positions on these foundational obligations.

For zakah, al-Kasani identifies the conditions that make zakah obligatory (shurut al-wujub) separately from the conditions for valid payment (shurut as-sihha). The conditions for obligation include: Islam, freedom, complete ownership, a nisab-level of wealth, and the passage of a full lunar year (hawl). He explains each condition with its evidential basis and practical implications, including the Hanafi position that the nisab need only be complete at the beginning and end of the hawl — temporary dips below the nisab during the year do not break the hawl in the Hanafi school (differing from other schools).

The categories of zakah-eligible wealth in Bada'i as-Sana'i are presented with al-Kasani's systematic analysis of the 'illah (effective cause) for each. Gold and silver are subject to zakah because they are monetary media (thaman) and measure of value. Trade goods are subject to zakah because they are held for profit through sale. Livestock are subject to zakah because they are self-proliferating productive wealth kept on open grazing. Agricultural produce is subject to zakah because it results from the productive capacity of the earth. These different 'illahs have different practical implications for which other types of wealth may be analogically included.

Fasting in Bada'i as-Sana'i presents the conditions for the obligation, the pillars of the fast, the invalidating acts, and the consequences of invalidation in al-Kasani's systematic format. The pillars of the fast are two: abstaining from everything that breaks the fast, and the intention. Al-Kasani explains the Hanafi position that the intention must be formed before midday, noting that this is based on the understanding that the 'day' of fasting begins at dawn and that intentions may be formed within the first half of the act being intended.

The invalidating acts (muftirat) of fasting are analyzed systematically in Bada'i as-Sana'i. Al-Kasani identifies which invalidating acts require both making up the day (qada') and expiation (kaffara) — intentional eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse during a Ramadan fast — and which require only making up the day. He also addresses the Hanafi school's distinctive positions on acts that break the fast: ear drops, nose drops, suppositories, cupping (the Hanafi school holds cupping does not break the fast), and other acts that involve substances entering the body through non-standard pathways.

Hajj in Bada'i as-Sana'i presents the Hanafi school's comprehensive framework for the pilgrimage. Al-Kasani identifies the conditions for the obligation of hajj, the pillars (arkan) — ihram, wuquf at Arafah, and tawaf al-ifadah — the necessary acts (wajibat) including sa'y, and the invalidating factors. His systematic organization of hajj law makes Bada'i as-Sana'i a particularly useful reference for understanding the distinction between pillars and necessary acts that is central to Hanafi hajj jurisprudence.