Zakat on Honey
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 18790 )
Q: I have a bee farm consisting of a large number of beehives, which I previously purchased and developed. I have workers who move the hives from city to city following the rainfall. When flowers are scarce in certain seasons, they feed the bees sugar to keep them alive and allow them to multiply annually. I sell some of the bees and their honey, and from the proceeds I pay the workers' salaries, the cost of transportation, the cost of medicines and sugar, and the cost of hives manufactured in specialized workshops. Sometimes I make a profit and sometimes I incur a loss. Please inform me whether I am obligated to pay zakat on these bees, whether those I sell or those I keep as capital for development and selling their offspring in the following year? Also, is zakat obligatory on the honey obtained from them, and how is the zakat calculated if it becomes obligatory? I note that I observe a lunar year (hawl) for all my sources of income, in which I pay zakat on all my wealth, whether the hawl has passed on it or not.
A: If the matter is as you described, there is no zakat on the honey produced by the bees. Rather, zakat becomes obligatory on its value if it is prepared for sale and reaches the nisab (minimum threshold), and a lunar year (hawl) has passed since the intention to prepare it for sale. The obligatory amount is one-quarter of one-tenth of its value. As for the bees, those prepared for sale are considered merchandise for trade, and the hawl begins from the intention to prepare them for sale. When the hawl passes, the owner estimates their value at the time the obligation arises and pays one-quarter of one-tenth of that value. As for those that are sold, their hawl begins from the intention to sell them. When the hawl passes on the value from the intention to sell, the owner pays one-quarter of one-tenth of the price at which the bees were sold. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
It is equal to the time when the obligation becomes due, and he should give out one-tenth of its value. As for what is sold of it, its lunar year begins from the intention to sell. So, when the lunar year has passed on the value from the intention to sell, the owner should give out one-tenth of the value for which he sold the bees. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I have a bee farm consisting of a large number of beehives, which I previously purchased and developed. I have workers who move the hives from city to city following the rainfall. When flowers are scarce in certain seasons, they feed the bees sugar to keep them alive and allow them to multiply annually. I sell some of the bees and their honey, and from the proceeds I pay the workers' salaries, the cost of transportation, the cost of medicines and sugar, and the cost of hives manufactured in specialized workshops. Sometimes I make a profit and sometimes I incur a loss. Please inform me whether I am obligated to pay zakat on these bees, whether those I sell or those I keep as capital for development and selling their offspring in the following year? Also, is zakat obligatory on the honey obtained from them, and how is the zakat calculated if it becomes obligatory? I note that I observe a lunar year (hawl) for all my sources of income, in which I pay zakat on all my wealth, whether the hawl has passed on it or not.
A: If the matter is as you described, there is no zakat on the honey produced by the bees. Rather, zakat becomes obligatory on its value if it is prepared for sale and reaches the nisab (minimum threshold), and a lunar year (hawl) has passed since the intention to prepare it for sale. The obligatory amount is one-quarter of one-tenth of its value. As for the bees, those prepared for sale are considered merchandise for trade, and the hawl begins from the intention to prepare them for sale. When the hawl passes, the owner estimates their value at the time the obligation arises and pays one-quarter of one-tenth of that value. As for those that are sold, their hawl begins from the intention to sell them. When the hawl passes on the value from the intention to sell, the owner pays one-quarter of one-tenth of the price at which the bees were sold. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
It is equal to the time when the obligation becomes due, and he should give out one-tenth of its value. As for what is sold of it, its lunar year begins from the intention to sell. So, when the lunar year has passed on the value from the intention to sell, the owner should give out one-tenth of the value for which he sold the bees. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.