Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in the Tuhfah

Al-Haytami's coverage of the remaining pillars of Islam — zakah, sawm, and hajj — demonstrates his characteristic blend of legal precision and broader scholarly context.

His zakah chapter begins with the legal basis of zakah in the Quran, Sunnah, and ijma'. He defines it as the portion of specific types of wealth that is obligatory to transfer to specific categories of recipients. The eight categories of zakah recipients are drawn from verse 9:60 of the Quran: the poor (fuqara'), the needy (masakin), the zakah collectors ('amilun), those whose hearts are to be won (mu'allafat al-qulub), those in bondage seeking emancipation (riqab), debtors (gharimun), those striving in the path of Allah (fi sabil Allah), and stranded travelers (ibn as-sabil). Al-Haytami discusses each category with the conditions required for eligibility.

For zakah on gold and silver, the nisab is 20 mithqals of gold (approximately 85 grams) or 200 dirhams of silver, with a rate of 2.5% after the hawl has elapsed. Al-Haytami addresses the scholarly discussion on whether gold and silver nisabs combine for calculation purposes — the Shafi'i position being that they do not combine unless both have separately reached their nisab.

On zakah al-fitr, the obligatory charity due at the end of Ramadan, al-Haytami specifies the amount — one sa' (approximately 2.4 kg) of the staple food of one's region — and the time of obligation: from the sunset ending Ramadan until the Eid prayer. He discusses the requirement to pay on behalf of dependents and the categories of people over whom one is obligated to pay.

The sawm chapter covers not only Ramadan fasting but also the voluntary fasts and their rulings. Al-Haytami discusses the nullifiers of fasting, distinguishing between those that require qada' (makeup fasting) only and those that additionally require kaffarah (expiation). The kaffarah for deliberately breaking the Ramadan fast through intercourse is among the most severe: freeing a slave, then fasting two consecutive months, then feeding sixty poor people — with no option to choose freely between them, but only to proceed in order if the earlier option is unavailable.

Hajj receives comprehensive treatment. Al-Haytami covers the miqat boundaries (the designated stations for entering ihram), the requirements of ihram, the prohibition of hunting, sexual relations, and other restricted acts during ihram, and the complete sequence of hajj rites from the 8th through the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah. He addresses the three forms of hajj — ifrad, qiran, and tamattu' — and explains the Shafi'i preference for ifrad (performing hajj alone, without combining it with 'umrah in the same ihram) while acknowledging that tamattu' is also valid.