What is the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah regarding the non-obligation of zakah on trade goods?

The Shaykh : What is the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah that there is no zakah on trade capital? The answer is from two aspects. First: The original ruling for wealth is prohibition, just as it is for blood and honor. It is not permissible to take anything from these matters except by an explicit text, because the original ruling is prohibition. This is as mentioned in the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) sermon at 'Arafah when he said: Since the original ruling for wealth is prohibition, it is not permissible to take anything from it except by an explicit text. Allah made zakah obligatory on the two types of currency, made it obligatory on animals, which are known, and made it obligatory on specific types of crops, as will be explained in the answer to the third question. We did not find in the Book or the Sunnah any verse or hadith that commands the Muslim to pay zakah on his trade goods. If the original ruling is prohibition and no text has come to take us out of this original ruling, then we must remain upon this original ruling. The original ruling for things here is prohibition, not permissibility. The rule that states, "The original ruling for things is permissibility," applies to what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created from plants and animals; the original ruling for these things is permissibility. However, regarding the wealth that a person possesses, the original ruling is prohibition, as mentioned from the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) sermon, until a text comes to move us from prohibition to permissibility and obligation. This is the first point. Second: Trade was well-known during the time of Prophethood and the Message. He said: We heard that 'Uthman ibn 'Affan was one of the wealthiest of the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), to the extent that he, as a single individual, was able to equip the Army of Hardship from his personal wealth. Likewise, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf was among the wealthy Companions, to the extent that gold was cut with axes after his death. It was never reported that the Companions who were traders, and foremost among them these two Companions, were ordered by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to pay zakah on their trade, or that they actually paid the zakah. If they had paid it, we would have known that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to do so. It was not reported that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to do so, nor was it reported that they actually paid zakah from their trade. So, up to now, we have two proofs that zakah is not obligatory on trade goods. The first proof: The original ruling for wealth is prohibition. The second proof: Trade was well-known during the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), yet he did not order the payment of zakah, nor did he order the Companions to pay any zakah on it. Third and finally: What we mentioned earlier regarding the stance of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and his companions who were with him in that session, where he refused to take the zakah on the horses that their owners brought for trade from the Levant, and instead took from them their voluntary charity, the voluntary charity of the owners of these assets. However, there is something here that must be remembered: If a man has been blessed by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) with wealth from trade, we have been commanded to purify ourselves from what we are naturally inclined to, as He (the Exalted) said: We have also been commanded to purify ourselves from the burdens and effects of stinginess by paying zakah The purification of the soul at that time, regarding the wealth owned by the Muslim, is of two types. The first type: The zakah that the Lawgiver made obligatory, which is limited by the nisab and the amount obligatory upon him, which is, for example, two and a half percent, or a quarter, or a tenth, or similar to what is known in the books of zakah from the books of hadith and jurisprudence. He pays from those assets on which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has prescribed a specific percentage, such as two and a half percent, thereby purifying his wealth. The absolute wealth on which the Wise Lawgiver has not prescribed a specific zakah, he pays from it what his soul is pleased with, what he feels is on the path of purifying his soul from the stinginess and miserliness with which he is naturally inclined.