Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in Dalil at-Talib

The chapters on zakah, sawm, and hajj in Dalil at-Talib continue al-Karmi's clear and student-friendly approach to Hanbali fiqh. Each section gives students the essential positions they need to know while avoiding the dense technical discussions appropriate only for advanced study.

The zakah chapter states the five categories of zakatable wealth, the nisab for each, and the applicable rate. On gold and silver: the nisab is 20 mithqals of gold or 200 dirhams of silver, with a rate of one-fortieth (2.5%) after the hawl. On livestock: graduated rates beginning at five camels, thirty cattle, or forty sheep. On agricultural produce: one-tenth for rain-irrigated, one-twentieth for irrigation-dependent crops. On trade goods: assessed at their market value at the completion of the hawl, taxed at the gold or silver rate. On minerals and buried treasure: the khums (one-fifth) for rikaz, with disagreement on other extracted minerals.

The section on zakah al-fitr is presented clearly: one sa' of local staple food per Muslim person, paid before the Eid prayer, obligatory on all who possess it beyond their immediate needs. Al-Karmi notes that paying it on behalf of one's dependents — wife, young children, and those whose maintenance is obligatory — is part of the obligation.

For fasting, Dalil at-Talib covers the conditions of obligation and the pillars of the fast. The intention (niyyah) for Ramadan fasting must be made each night according to the Hanbali position, a point al-Karmi states clearly to distinguish it from the Hanafi allowance of a general intention for the whole month. The nullifiers of the fast are listed: eating, drinking, intentional intercourse, deliberate vomiting, cupping, and blood reaching the throat through the nose. The concession for travelers and the ill, and the expiation (kaffarah) for deliberate intercourse during the fast, are explained at the student level.

The hajj chapter covers the conditions of obligation, the miqat boundaries for different directions of travel, the pillars of hajj (ihram, 'Arafah, tawaf al-ifadah, and sa'y), the obligations (wajibat) whose omission requires a compensatory animal sacrifice, and the recommended acts. Al-Karmi's presentation of the rites in their proper sequence — from the 8th through the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah — gives students a practical guide to the pilgrimage.