How to Understand the Concept of ‘Ushr?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Salman Younas
Question
I asked whether ‘Ushr was paid on produce found in regular gardens. I remember reading a fatwa on this website that says it is only if one intends to sell this produce.
Still, I could not understand this as the nisab for selling agricultural goods is 200 dirhams, not 1/10th or five awsuq, suggesting ‘ushr is somewhat different to zakah of tijara, so how do we understand this?
Answer
Yes, ‘Ushr is only due to vegetation, produce, or crops if they are grown for agricultural purposes (like to sell) as opposed to recreational purposes (like the home garden).
As for the amount one must pay, ‘Ushr does not follow the same rules as normal trade products. Instead, if the produce/crops are:
- Irrigated naturally by rainwater or the like, 1/10th of the produce is due.
- washed by human or mechanical watering, 1/20th of the produce is due.
- irrigated naturally and by human watering, one considers that which predominates between the two. [al-Mawsili, al-Ikhtiyar]
[Ustadh] Salman Younas
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Born and raised in New York, Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studied Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir. He is now in the final year of his Ph.D. at Oxford University, looking at the early evolution of the Hanafi madhab.
His teachers include: Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Shaykh Salah Abu’l Hajj, Shaykh Ashraf Muneeb, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Hamza Karamali, Shaykh Ahmad Snobar, Shaykh Ali Hani, Shaykh Hamza Bakri, Ustadh Rajab Harun and others.
Ustadh Salman’s personal interests include research into the fields of law/legal methodology, hadith, theology, as well as political theory, government, media, and ethics. He is also an avid traveler and book collector. He currently resides in the UK with his wife.
