Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in Mughni al-Muhtaj

The chapters on zakah, sawm, and hajj in Mughni al-Muhtaj follow the same pattern as the rest of the work: careful explication of the Minhaj's text, supported by the major Shafi'i authorities, with ash-Shirbini's characteristic attention to clarity and linguistic precision.

The zakah chapter covers all the standard Shafi'i categories with the detail appropriate for an advanced commentary. On zakah on gold and silver, ash-Shirbini explains why the Shafi'i school does not combine gold and silver for the nisab — they are different types of wealth with separate nisabs established by separate prophetic texts. He provides the nisab for each (20 mithqals of gold, 200 dirhams of silver) and the rate (2.5% after the hawl), and addresses the question of gold-silver alloys and what proportion of each element determines the applicable ruling.

For zakah on agricultural produce, Mughni al-Muhtaj addresses the types of crops subject to zakah and the applicable rates. Ash-Shirbini applies the Shafi'i criterion — crops that are dried, stored, and measured by the mudd — to determine which crops are zakatable. He discusses the scholarly debate about fruits and vegetables and the reasons why the classical Shafi'i school excluded them from the general obligation of agricultural zakah.

The sawm chapter in Mughni al-Muhtaj addresses the question of the moon sighting for beginning Ramadan. Ash-Shirbini covers the Shafi'i position on the sufficiency of a single trustworthy witness — a position more lenient than the Hanbali and Maliki requirements of two witnesses — and explains the reasoning: a single trustworthy report is generally sufficient in Islamic law for establishing facts relevant to individual obligation, though communal announcements for all of society may require stronger evidence.

On the kaffarah for breaking the Ramadan fast, Mughni al-Muhtaj discusses the Shafi'i restriction of kaffarah to cases of deliberate sexual intercourse. Ash-Shirbini explains this restriction through the principle of specific application: the kaffarah hadith specifies a man who had intercourse with his wife during the fast, and the Shafi'i school restricts the ruling to the specific act mentioned rather than extending it by analogy to all deliberate nullifiers.

The hajj chapter covers the full range of rites with ash-Shirbini's characteristic thoroughness. He addresses the complex questions of hajj for those living at a distance from Mecca — when the obligation is triggered, what level of financial and physical ability is required, and how the miqat boundaries apply to travelers from different regions. The chapter on the tawaf is particularly detailed, covering the conditions of valid tawaf (ritual purity, facing the Ka'bah on the side, beginning at the Black Stone, performing it inside the mosque, completing seven circuits) and the rulings on interruptions, mistakes, and compensating acts.