4 - Trade Goods
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The Shaykh : Trade goods. Trade goods are the broadest category of wealth subject to zakah. They are the broadest category of wealth subject to zakah, my brothers, because they have a criterion and a limit, but they have no number. I said they have no number. Pay attention to me, O translator, if you make a mistake, they have no number.
I say: Trade goods are everything a person prepares for earning a livelihood. They are trade goods, and zakah is obligatory on them. Now, this pen of mine, you see the pen. If you prepare it for writing, is it a trade good? Is zakah obligatory on it? No. If you prepare it for earning a livelihood, is zakah obligatory on it or not? Zakah is obligatory on it. Zakah is obligatory on it. Now, the shirt I have here, if I prepare it for wearing, is there zakah on it? No. If I prepare it for trade, there is zakah on it. So, trade goods are anything a person prepares for trade, and zakah is due on it. Any type of wealth, whether camels, cows, sheep, wood, iron, vessels, or carpets, anything. Now, are lands considered trade goods or not? Yes. A person who trades in lands, buying and selling them to earn a livelihood, they are trade goods and zakah is due on them. So, the broadest type of zakah, the broadest type of zakatable wealth, is trade goods. So what is its criterion, my brother? Stand up. Stand up, men. I know this man is a wanderer; it appears he is from beyond the sea of Aija. Now, who knows? Yes, the criterion.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : For earning a livelihood.
The student: For earning a livelihood.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. This is the criterion. The criterion is that anything a person prepares for trade and earning a livelihood is a trade good, whatever it may be. Understood? Now, a person might say: You said this shirt does not have zakah on it because it is for wearing, so why did you make zakah obligatory on jewelry when it is also for wearing? He says: Because of the existence of evidence. There is evidence that zakah is obligatory on the substance of gold and silver. Not because it is a trade good in itself. For this reason, if a person has gold stacked up, and every time he needs something he sells some of it and eats, we say there is zakah on it. Now, how much is this? Of the gold and silver, paper currency is a trade good.
I say: Trade goods are everything a person prepares for earning a livelihood. They are trade goods, and zakah is obligatory on them. Now, this pen of mine, you see the pen. If you prepare it for writing, is it a trade good? Is zakah obligatory on it? No. If you prepare it for earning a livelihood, is zakah obligatory on it or not? Zakah is obligatory on it. Zakah is obligatory on it. Now, the shirt I have here, if I prepare it for wearing, is there zakah on it? No. If I prepare it for trade, there is zakah on it. So, trade goods are anything a person prepares for trade, and zakah is due on it. Any type of wealth, whether camels, cows, sheep, wood, iron, vessels, or carpets, anything. Now, are lands considered trade goods or not? Yes. A person who trades in lands, buying and selling them to earn a livelihood, they are trade goods and zakah is due on them. So, the broadest type of zakah, the broadest type of zakatable wealth, is trade goods. So what is its criterion, my brother? Stand up. Stand up, men. I know this man is a wanderer; it appears he is from beyond the sea of Aija. Now, who knows? Yes, the criterion.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : For earning a livelihood.
The student: For earning a livelihood.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. This is the criterion. The criterion is that anything a person prepares for trade and earning a livelihood is a trade good, whatever it may be. Understood? Now, a person might say: You said this shirt does not have zakah on it because it is for wearing, so why did you make zakah obligatory on jewelry when it is also for wearing? He says: Because of the existence of evidence. There is evidence that zakah is obligatory on the substance of gold and silver. Not because it is a trade good in itself. For this reason, if a person has gold stacked up, and every time he needs something he sells some of it and eats, we say there is zakah on it. Now, how much is this? Of the gold and silver, paper currency is a trade good.