Zakat on Crops Guide | Zakat Platform

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Zakat on Crops — Guide

Approved Sharia rulings on Zakat for agricultural produce and harvests

First: What is Zakat on Crops?

Zakat on Crops is the Zakat obligatory on certain yields produced by the earth — agricultural crops and produce — when they reach a minimum threshold (Nisab) and specific conditions are met.

Sharia Evidence:

"On what is watered by the sky, springs, or is naturally irrigated: one-tenth (10%). On what is irrigated by effort: one-twentieth (5%)."

— Narrated by al-Bukhari from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both

Second: Which Crops Are Subject to Zakat?

Zakat is due on all agricultural yields cultivated with the intention of generating income — whether grains, fruits, or vegetables — as long as they are grown for investment purposes and not solely for personal consumption.

Third: What is the Nisab? (The Minimum Threshold)

Sharia Nisab

Five Awsuq

Modern Equivalent

653 kg

approximately of dried produce

⚠️ Jurisprudential Note:

•The Nisab must be reached after drying (for dates and raisins) and after threshing (for grains).
•The total yield of a single season is considered as one unit.

Fourth: When is Zakat Due?

Allah says:

﴾And give its due on the day of its harvest﴿

(Al-An'am: 141)

Zakat is due at the time of harvest. A full lunar year (hawl) is not required — unlike Zakat on monetary assets.

Fifth: How Much is Due? (The Applicable Rate)

Irrigation Method	Rate Due
Irrigated at no cost Rain — natural rivers — naturally flowing groundwater	One-tenth (10%)
Irrigated at a cost Pumps — fuel — electricity — artificial irrigation	One-twentieth (5%)
Mixed irrigation (sometimes free, sometimes at cost)	Estimated based on predominant method

Irrigation Method

Rate Due

Irrigated at no cost

Rain — natural rivers — naturally flowing groundwater

One-tenth (10%)

Irrigated at a cost

Pumps — fuel — electricity — artificial irrigation

One-twentieth (5%)

Mixed irrigation (sometimes free, sometimes at cost)

Estimated based on predominant method

Sixth: Important Jurisprudential Clarifications

1. Are farming costs deducted?

The position of the majority of scholars is that costs (fertilizers, labor, fuel) are not deducted; Zakat is calculated from the gross yield. However, some contemporary scholars lean toward deduction when costs are excessively burdensome, in consideration of the higher objectives of Islamic law.

2. Are different crop types combined?

Wheat and barley, for example, are not combined to complete the Nisab. However, the same crop type from multiple fields is combined — scattered wheat fields are totaled together to reach the Nisab.

3. What if the crop is sold before Zakat is paid?

Zakat becomes obligatory on the owner at the time of harvest. Selling the crop does not cancel the Zakat obligation.

4. Is Zakat on the tenant or the landowner?

Zakat is due on whoever owns the crop at harvest time — whether the landowner or the tenant farmer, or shared proportionally if both are involved.

Summary: Zakat on Crops Guide

Item	Detail
What is zakatable	Any agricultural crop grown for investment — grains, fruits, or vegetables.
Nisab	Five Awsuq = approx. 653 kg of dried produce.
Time of payment	At harvest — no annual cycle (hawl) required.
Rate	10% if irrigated at no cost — 5% if irrigated at a cost.

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Calculate Your Crop Zakat

Dry crop weight (kilograms)

Irrigation Method

At no cost

Rain — rivers — naturally flowing groundwater

10%

At a cost

Pumps — fuel — electricity

Sharia Methodology Guides

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