Zakat: How the Madhabs Differ on Obligatory Charity

zakah is one of the most practically consequential areas of comparative fiqh, because the differences between schools can significantly affect how much a Muslim owes and on what categories of wealth. Ibn Rushd's treatment in Bidayat al-Mujtahid maps these differences with characteristic clarity, identifying their sources in the texts and methodological principles of the schools.

All four schools agree that zakah is obligatory on gold, silver, livestock, agricultural produce, and trade goods when they reach their respective nisab thresholds and (where applicable) after a full lunar year of ownership. The disagreements arise in the details of each category.

For gold and silver (and by extension, modern currency): all schools set the nisab for silver at 200 dirhams and for gold at 20 mithqals, with a rate of 2.5%. The disagreement concerns whether gold and silver may be combined if neither individually reaches its nisab. The Hanafi school permits combining them by monetary value, reasoning that their shared function as currency justifies treating them as a single category. The Shafi'i school requires each to reach its own nisab independently, reasoning that they are textually treated as distinct categories with separate thresholds.

For agricultural produce: the Hanafi school applies zakah to all produce without restriction, based on the general Quranic command to give from what the earth produces (2:267). The other three schools restrict zakah to produce capable of being stored — primarily grains and dried fruits. The Maliki school applies zakah broadly within this category, including olives and saffron; the Shafi'i school restricts it more narrowly to the main staple foods. Ibn Rushd identifies the root of this difference as whether the Quranic verse is to be read in its general sense or qualified by the Prophet's practice of specifically levying zakah on wheat, barley, dates, and raisins.

For trade goods: all four schools agree that goods held for trade are zakatable, assessed annually at market value at 2.5%. The disagreement is over the conditions: must the intention to trade be present at the moment of acquisition, or can it arise later? The Shafi'i and Maliki schools require the intention from the moment of purchase. The Hanafi school is more flexible. The dispute reflects different views on how intention relates to the legal character of property.

For livestock: all schools follow the detailed schedule of the prophetic letters on zakah. The main disagreements concern which animals qualify. The Maliki school, consistent with its emphasis on the broader community's practice, includes horses in the zakatable category (at 2.5% of value) when kept for business purposes, a position also held by Abu Hanifah. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools do not require zakah on horses, based on the hadith: 'A Muslim is not obligated to pay zakah on his horse' (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

For the eight categories of recipients, the Shafi'i school requires that zakah be distributed among all present categories in a locality. The Hanafi school gives the payer discretion to concentrate zakah on one category, even a single individual. The Maliki and Hanbali schools generally permit concentration on the neediest. The root of this disagreement is whether the 'and' (wa) between the eight categories in Quran 9:60 indicates that all must receive shares or simply lists eligible categories.

Ibn Rushd's analysis demonstrates that even in zakah — where the Quran is relatively specific — the interplay of general verses, prophetic practice, and interpretive principles produces genuine scholarly diversity.