This volume details the laws of Zakaat, Sadaqa e Fitr, optional charity, fasting, and I’tekaaf according to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It establishes the conditions for Zakaat to become obligatory, including the requirements of Islam, sanity, puberty, freedom, and the possession of the nisab threshold, while detailing the specific calculations for livestock, gold, silver, merchandise, crops, and buried treasures. The text outlines the categories of eligible recipients for Zakaat and prohibits its distribution to certain relatives or the descendants of the Prophet. It further defines the rules for the commencement of the month of Ramadaan through moon sighting, the requirements for the validity of a fast, and the specific conditions that necessitate either Qaza (making up a fast) or Kaffarah (expiation). Finally, it covers the regulations for I’tekaaf, the virtues of various optional fasts, and the rulings regarding vows (Nazar).

Key topics & takeaways

Zakaat

• Conditions for Zakaat to be obligatory — the work holds that a person must be a Muslim, sane, an adult, free, and possess the nisab (minimum threshold) of wealth that remains in their ownership for a full lunar year, excluding their basic necessities (page 30).
• Nisab for gold and silver — the text fixes the nisab for silver at 52.5 tolas and for gold at 7.5 tolas, requiring a payment of 2.5% of the total value (page 78).
• Zakaat on livestock — the work details specific thresholds for sa’imah (grazing) animals, such as camels, cattle, and goats, noting that Zakaat is not due on animals used for labor or those not grazing in open fields for the majority of the year (page 64).
• Zakaat on crops and fruits — the text mandates the payment of Ushr (one-tenth) on crops watered by rain or natural springs, and half of Ushr (one-twentieth) on crops watered by artificial irrigation (page 104).
• Eligible recipients — the work restricts the distribution of Zakaat to the poor, the destitute, those in debt, and those working for the collection of Zakaat, while explicitly forbidding its payment to one's own parents, children, or spouses (page 117).

Sadaqa e Fitr and Charity

• Obligation of Sadaqa e Fitr — the text holds that this charity is wajib upon every free Muslim who possesses the nisab of Zakaat on the day of Eid al-Fitr, and it must be paid before the Eid prayer (page 139).
• Prohibition of begging — the work teaches that it is haram for a person who possesses the amount of nisab or has sufficient food for the day to ask others for financial aid (page 137).
• Virtues of Nafil charity — the text affirms that voluntary charity is a means of extinguishing sins and increasing one's provision, provided it is given with sincerity and without causing discomfort to the recipient.

Fasting

• Moon sighting requirements — the work holds that the testimony of a single just person is sufficient to confirm the start of Ramadaan, whereas the start of Shawwal requires the testimony of two just men or a large group of people (page 208).
• Acts that invalidate a fast — the text specifies that intentional eating, drinking, smoking, or sexual intimacy during the daylight hours breaks the fast and necessitates both Qaza and Kaffarah (page 176).
• Exemptions from fasting — the work allows for the postponement of fasting for travelers, the severely ill, and pregnant or nursing women, provided they make up the missed fasts later.
• Makruh acts while fasting — the text warns against tasting food without necessity, chewing gum, or engaging in backbiting, as these diminish the reward of the fast (page 176).
• Kaffarah conditions — the work states that Kaffarah (fasting 60 consecutive days or feeding 60 poor people) is only required if the fast of Ramadaan was broken intentionally without a valid Shariah excuse (page 176).

I’tekaaf

• Definition of I’tekaaf — the text defines I’tekaaf as the act of secluding oneself in a mosque with the intention of worship, noting that it is Sunnah Mu’akkadah for the last ten days of Ramadaan.
• Requirements for validity — the work holds that the person in I’tekaaf must be a Muslim, sane, and free from major ritual impurity (janabah), and they must not leave the mosque except for necessary human needs.