What is obligatory in the zakah of livestock? Is it permissible to pay it in cash value, or not?
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The questioner : In the zakah of sheep, we give a goat or a sheep, and praise be to Allah, and we give it to those who are entitled to it. But is it permissible for us to select these sheep and give them as zakah, meaning that we sell them and distribute the proceeds, giving the cash to the needy? Because when we give the sheep here and take them out, we give them to a single person. Please clarify this issue for us.
The Shaykh : The obligatory requirement in the zakah of livestock is that it be of the same species: cattle from cattle, sheep from sheep, and camels from camels, except for camels fewer than twenty-five, whose zakah is sheep, with one sheep for every five.
It is not permissible to deviate from what the Lawgiver has prescribed to paying the value, unless there is a pressing need or a benefit for the poor person such that he prefers the value over the actual item. If the benefit or need exists, there is no harm.
As for when there is no benefit and no need, the obligation is to give the zakah of each species from that same species, as we have mentioned, except for camels fewer than twenty-five, whose zakah is sheep, with one sheep for every five.
The Shaykh : The obligatory requirement in the zakah of livestock is that it be of the same species: cattle from cattle, sheep from sheep, and camels from camels, except for camels fewer than twenty-five, whose zakah is sheep, with one sheep for every five.
It is not permissible to deviate from what the Lawgiver has prescribed to paying the value, unless there is a pressing need or a benefit for the poor person such that he prefers the value over the actual item. If the benefit or need exists, there is no harm.
As for when there is no benefit and no need, the obligation is to give the zakah of each species from that same species, as we have mentioned, except for camels fewer than twenty-five, whose zakah is sheep, with one sheep for every five.