Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in Kashshaf al-Qina

Al-Buhuti's treatment of the three remaining pillars of Islam in Kashshaf al-Qina provides the definitive Hanbali reference for zakah, fasting, and hajj — the positions that Saudi muftis and Hanbali scholars worldwide rely on for their rulings on these obligations.

The zakah sections of Kashshaf al-Qina cover every category of obligatory almsgiving with Hanbali specificity. Al-Buhuti presents the nisab thresholds, rates, and conditions for each category, including the Hanbali school's distinctive rulings on honey (one-tenth of production reaching sixty ritls) and on the broad application of zakah to agricultural produce. He also addresses the Hanbali positions on zakah for trade goods: the goods are assessed at their current market value, and zakah is paid on the total if it reaches the nisab of silver.

The zakah sections include extensive discussion of the eight categories of zakah recipients (8:60) and the Hanbali school's positions on distribution. Al-Buhuti addresses whether zakah must be distributed among all eight categories present in a given locality (the Shafi'i position) or whether it may be concentrated among the most deserving recipients based on need — a more flexible position that the Hanbali school generally accepts.

Fasting in Kashshaf al-Qina addresses the Hanbali school's full range of sawm law with characteristic thoroughness. The discussion of cupping is particularly notable: al-Buhuti presents the Hanbali position that cupping breaks the fast based on the prophetic hadith, and engages with the counter-argument that this hadith was abrogated by a later report. He affirms the Hanbali position that the abrogation narrative is not sufficiently authenticated to override the clear prophetic statement.

The Hanbali school's positions on I'tikaf (seclusion in the mosque) are addressed in Kashshaf al-Qina. I'tikaf is a sunnah act that becomes most important in the last ten nights of Ramadan. Al-Buhuti presents the Hanbali conditions for valid i'tikaf — that it be performed in a mosque, that the person be in a state of purity, and that the intention be properly formed — and addresses the acts that invalidate i'tikaf, including leaving the mosque without necessity and sexual contact.

Hajj in Kashshaf al-Qina covers the complete sequence of pilgrimage rites with Hanbali precision. Al-Buhuti addresses the three modes of performance — ifrad (hajj only), tamattu' (umrah then hajj with intervening state), and qiran (ihram for both simultaneously) — and presents the Hanbali school's positions on which mode is superior (the school generally prefers ifrad for those who carry the hady sacrifice animal).

The ihram prohibitions receive detailed treatment in Kashshaf al-Qina: the specific acts forbidden to men (covering the head, wearing sewn garments, using fragrance, cutting hair or nails, hunting, sexual intercourse) and to women (covering the face, wearing gloves), the conditions for each prohibition, and the penalities for violation. Al-Buhuti's systematic treatment of these complex rules — which have significant practical implications for the millions who perform hajj annually — demonstrates Kashshaf al-Qina's enduring value as a reference for contemporary Islamic practice.