[Sūrah xix. 1–12]: “A recital of thy Lord’s mercy to His servant Zakarīyāʾ, when he called upon his Lord with secret calling. He said: ‘O Lord, verily my bones are weak and the hoar hairs glisten on my head, and never, Lord, have I prayed to Thee with ill success. But now I have fear for my kindred after me; and my wife is barren: Give me, then, a successor as Thy special gift and an heir of the family of Jacob: and make him, Lord, well-pleasing to Thee.’ ‘O Zakarīyāʾ, verily We announce to Thee a son,—his name Yaḥyā (John): that name We have given to none before him.’ He said: ‘O my Lord! how when my wife is barren shall I have a son, and when I have now reached old age, failing in my powers?’ He said: ‘So shall it be. Thy Lord hath said, Easy is this to Me, for I created thee aforetime when thou wast nothing.’ He said: ‘Vouchsafe me, O my Lord! a sign.’ He said: ‘Thy sign shall be that for three nights, though sound in health, thou speakest not to man.’ And he came forth from the sanctuary to his people, and made signs to them as though he would say, ‘Praise God at morn and even.’ ”
[Sūrah xxi. 89]: “And Zakarīyāʾ, when he called upon his Lord saying, ‘O my Lord leave me not childless: but there is no better heir than Thyself.’ So We heard him and gave him Yaḥyā (John), and We made his wife fit for child-bearing.”
ZAKĀT (زكوة). In its primitive sense the word zakāt means purification, whence it is also used to express a portion of property bestowed in alms, as a sanctification of the remainder to the proprietor. It is an institution of Islām and founded upon an express command in the Qurʾān (vide [Sūrah ii. 77]), being one of the five foundations of practical religion.
It is a religious duty incumbent upon any person who is free, sane, adult, and a Muslim, provided he be possessed in full property of such estate or effects as are termed in the language of the law niṣāb, and that he has been in possession of the same for the space of one complete year. The niṣāb, or fixed amount of property upon which zakāt is due, varies with reference to the different kinds of property in possession, as will be seen in the present article.
The one complete year in which the property is held in possession is termed ḥaulu ʾl-ḥaul. Zakāt is not incumbent upon a man against whom there are debts equal to or exceeding the amount of his whole property, nor is it due upon the necessaries of life, such as dwelling-houses, or articles of clothing, or household furniture, or cattle kept for immediate use, or slaves employed as actual servants, or armour and weapons designed for present use, or upon books of science and theology used by scholars, or upon tools used by craftsmen.
(1) The zakāt of camels. Zakāt is not due upon less than five camels, and upon five camels it is one goat or sheep, provided they subsist upon pasture throughout the year, because zakāt is only due upon such camels as live on pasture, and not upon those which are fed in the home with forage. One goat is due upon any number of camels from five to nine; two goats for any number of camels from ten to fourteen; three goats for any number from twenty to twenty-four. Upon any number of camels from twenty-five to thirty-five the zakāt is a bint mik͟hāẓ, or a yearling female camel; from thirty-six to forty-five, a bint labūn, or a two-year-old female camel; from forty-six to sixty, a ḥiqqah, or a three-year-old female camel; from sixty-one to seventy-five, a jaẕʿah, or four-year-old female camel; from seventy-five to ninety, two camels’ female two-year-old colts; and from ninety-one to one hundred and twenty, two camels’ female three-year-old colts. When the number of camels exceeds one hundred and twenty, the zakāt is calculated by the aforesaid rule.
(2) The zakāt of bulls, cows, and buffaloes. No zakāt is due upon fewer than thirty cattle, and upon thirty cattle which feed on pasture for the greater part of the year, there is due at the end of the year a tabīʿah, or a one-year-old calf; and upon forty is due a musim, or a calf of two years old; and where the number exceeds forty, the zakāt is to be calculated according to this rule. For example, upon sixty, the zakāt is two yearling calves; upon seventy, one tabīʿah and one musim; upon eighty, two musims; upon ninety, three tabīʿah; upon one hundred, two tabīʿahs and one musim; and thus upon every ten head of cattle a musim and a tabīʿah alternately. Thus upon one hundred and ten kine, the zakāt is two musims and one tabīʿah; and upon one hundred and twenty, four tabīʿahs. The usual method, however, of calculating the zakāt upon large herds of cattle is by dividing them into thirties and forties, imposing upon every thirty one tabīʿah, or upon every forty one musim.
(3) Zakāt upon sheep and goats. No zakāt is due upon less than forty, which have fed the greater part of the year upon pasture, upon which is due one goat, until the number reaches one hundred and twenty; for one hundred and twenty-one to two hundred, it is two goats or sheep; and above this, one for every hundred. The same rules apply to both sheep and goats, because in the Traditions the original word g͟hanam applies to both species.
(4) Zakāt upon horses. When horses and mares are kept indiscriminately together, feeding for the greater part of the year on pasture, it is the option of the proprietor to give a zakāt of one dīnār per head for the whole, or to appreciate the whole, and give five per cent. upon the total value. No zakāt whatever is due upon droves of horses consisting entirely of males, or entirely of mares. There is no zakāt due upon horses or mules, unless they are articles of merchandise, nor is it due upon war horses, or upon beasts of burden, or upon cattle kept for drawing ploughs and so forth.
(5) Zakāt upon silver. It is not due upon silver of less value than two hundred dirhams, but if one be possessed of this sum for a whole year, the zakāt due upon it is five dirhams. No zakāt is due upon an excess above the two hundred dirhams till such excess amount to forty, upon which the zakāt is one dirham, and for every succeeding forty, one dirham. Those dirhams in which silver predominates are to be accounted silver, and the laws respecting silver apply to them, although they should contain some alloy; and the same rule holds with regard to all articles falling under the denomination of plate, such as cups and goblets.