Zakah on sheep owned for breeding and trade
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The questioner says: I hope you will inform me whether zakah is due on these numbers of sheep or not? Is zakah due on these numbers of sheep or not? One hundred and four lambs, some of which are not yet six months old, and eleven ewes that are also not yet six months old, including both large and small ones, even though they are given feed and are not grazing freely. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Yes, this number of sheep is one hundred and forty-four
The questioner : and eleven.
The Shaykh : This number of sheep is subject to zakah. Even if they were grazing freely, because the minimum threshold (nisab) for sheep is forty.
When a person has forty sheep, zakah becomes obligatory on them, but it is required that they be for breeding and increase, and that they be grazing freely, meaning they graze for most of the lunar year. As for those kept for trade, like those who are with the shepherds who buy a sheep in the morning and sell it in the evening, zakah is due on them even if the number is much less; perhaps even a single sheep would be subject to zakah, because trade goods are assessed by their value, so when their value reaches the threshold (nisab), zakah becomes obligatory. Also, if they are for trade, it is not required that they be grazing freely; rather, zakah is obligatory on them even if they are fed, because trade goods are in the position of a merchant’s stock in his shop, and the merchant in the shop needs to pay for the shop rent, cleaning the place, and other known expenses. The conclusion is that if these sheep are for breeding and offspring, it is required that they be grazing freely, meaning they graze for most of the lunar year. But if they are for trade, zakah is obligatory on them even if they are fed.
The Shaykh : Yes, this number of sheep is one hundred and forty-four
The questioner : and eleven.
The Shaykh : This number of sheep is subject to zakah. Even if they were grazing freely, because the minimum threshold (nisab) for sheep is forty.
When a person has forty sheep, zakah becomes obligatory on them, but it is required that they be for breeding and increase, and that they be grazing freely, meaning they graze for most of the lunar year. As for those kept for trade, like those who are with the shepherds who buy a sheep in the morning and sell it in the evening, zakah is due on them even if the number is much less; perhaps even a single sheep would be subject to zakah, because trade goods are assessed by their value, so when their value reaches the threshold (nisab), zakah becomes obligatory. Also, if they are for trade, it is not required that they be grazing freely; rather, zakah is obligatory on them even if they are fed, because trade goods are in the position of a merchant’s stock in his shop, and the merchant in the shop needs to pay for the shop rent, cleaning the place, and other known expenses. The conclusion is that if these sheep are for breeding and offspring, it is required that they be grazing freely, meaning they graze for most of the lunar year. But if they are for trade, zakah is obligatory on them even if they are fed.
Source
اللقاءات الرمضانية لعام 1412هـ - 3 — binothaimeen.net (3:37)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.