Explanation of the author's statement: "And it is required that the nisab be owned by him at the time zakah becomes obligatory, so it is not obligatory on what a picker acquires or what he takes by harvesting, nor on what he gathers from what is permissible, such as batm, za'bal, and cotton seeds, even if it grows in his land."

The Shaykh :"And it is required that the nisab be owned by him at the time zakah becomes obligatory" This is the second condition: that the nisab, meaning the grains and fruits, be owned by him at the time zakah becomes obligatory. So, when is the time when zakah becomes obligatory? The time when zakah becomes obligatory on date fruit is the appearance of ripeness, when it turns red or yellow. For grains, it is when the grain hardens, when the grain hardens to the point that if you squeeze it, it does not crush; it becomes hardened. This is the time of obligation. It is required that it be owned by him at this time. If he owns it after that, there is no zakah on it. For this reason, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said, "so it is not obligatory on what a picker acquires or what he takes by harvesting". "It is not obligatory on what a picker acquires". A picker is one who follows the farmers and picks up dates that have fallen from the palm trees, or picks up ears of grain that have fallen from the crop. If this picker earns a nisab of dates or a nisab of grain, there is no zakah on it. Why? Because at the time zakah became obligatory, it was not in his ownership. Similarly, if the owner dies after the appearance of ripeness, there is no zakah on the heir because he owned it after zakah became obligatory. However, in this case, the zakah is on the first owner, the deceased, and it is paid out of his estate. Likewise, there is no zakah on what he takes by harvesting. How does he take it by harvesting? It means, for example, a man is told, "Harvest this crop for one-third of it," and he harvests it for one-third. There is no zakah on him for this one-third. Why? Because he did not own it when zakah became obligatory; he only owned it afterwards. So we have two conditions. What is the first condition? Reaching the nisab. And the second condition is that the nisab be owned by him at the time zakah becomes obligatory. He said, likewise, "and it is not obligatory on what he gathers from what is permissible". What he gathers from what is permissible, even if zakah would be obligatory in it, has no zakah in it, such as batm, za'bal, and cotton seeds. Who knows what batm is?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes? No, it is barley. I do not know it. Likewise, I do not know za'bal.

The questioner : ... it is beneficial for coughs. And he also said, and za'bal ... .

The Shaykh : Who says?

The Shaykh : In any case, if Allah wills ... you will bring it to me in the next lesson, if Allah wills. You go out to the open land and look for it. The important thing is the rule: what he gathers from what is permissible, meaning what grows in the wilderness by the action of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), if a person gathers a large amount of it, there is no zakah on it. Why? Because at the time of obligation, it is not his property. Since what is permissible, which is what is gathered from grass and the like, is not owned by a person unless he takes it. All right.
He says, "and cotton seeds". He says, za'bal, pronounced like Ja'far, is mountain barley. We do not know mountain barley. All right. As for cotton seeds, our scholars tell us that cotton seeds are the ear of the grass, which is well known. This is simple; it can be ... the grass is called al-rabalah among us. Yes, is it well known? It has an ear. He says this is the cotton seed, and Allah knows best about this and other things. What concerns us is the rule: it must be owned by him, what? At the time of obligation. If he owns it after that, there is no zakah on it.
They said, "even if it grows in his land". "Even if" this is like an indication of disagreement, because some scholars say that if it grows in his land, it is his property. And if it is his property, then he owned it when zakah became obligatory. But the school of thought (madhhab) is that what grows in his land by the action of Allah is not his property. He has more right to it than others, but he does not own it. Do you understand? Based on the difference of opinion, we say: if we say that what grows in his land from what is permissible is his property, then zakah is obligatory on it if he takes it after it reaches the threshold. And if we say he does not own it, which is the correct view, then there is no zakah on what he gathers from it, because at the time of obligation, it is not his property. We considered this correct, meaning we considered that it is not his property, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and this is from the pasture.
The summary of this chapter is that zakah is obligatory on every measured and stored grain and fruit, whether it is food or not. The second point is that two conditions are required. The first condition is reaching the nisab, and the second condition is that it be owned by him at the time zakah becomes obligatory. All right. Is it required that it be food? Meaning, is zakah not obligatory on it? The school of thought says it is not required, as long as it is measured and stored, then zakah is in it. The second opinion says it is required that it be food. But the apparent generality of the generality of his saying includes that whatever is five wasqs has zakah in it, whether it is food or not food. All right.