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Real Estate Jul 13, 2026

Zakat on Commercial Farms (Fish, Poultry, Cattle Fattening)

Question

I run a fish enclosure, poultry sheds and a cattle-fattening farm for Eid season. Is zakat here reckoned by the livestock nisabs (30 cattle, 40 goats)?

Ruling (Fatwa)

Short answer: No — the special livestock tables (a tabiʿ per 30 cattle, etc.) apply to sāʾimah animals: those grazing freely most of the year, kept for milk and breeding. Farm fish, poultry and fattening cattle raised on purchased feed for sale are all trade goods (ʿurūḍ at-tijārah): on your zakat day pay 2.5% of the saleable stock's market value + farm cash + collectible receivables. Details: Exempt: sheds, pond infrastructure, machinery, generators (fixed assets), and permanently retained brood fish/parent stock (means of production — though their output becomes goods once it enters sale stock). Feed and medicine stores are also means unless held for resale. If Eid season does not match your hawl, no matter — reckon whatever stock exists on your fixed zakat day; stock sold by then shows up as cash instead. Evidence: Quran 2:267; the sāʾimah condition in Abu Bakr's letter — Sahih al-Bukhari 1454; the exemption principle of Sahih al-Bukhari 1464; the majority and the Permanent Committee on fed (maʿlūfah) and trading animals. For complex individual cases, consult a qualified scholar.

References

Quran Quran 2:267
Hadith Bukhari 1454, 1464
Fiqh majority; Permanent Committee on fed/trade animals