General rule.
'Lakat due
upon all
merchandize.
Zakat is due upon fewer than four Mi/kals, fince thefe ftand the fame
as forty Dirms: and it has been already fhewn that nothing fhort of
forty Dirms is fubjedt to Zakdt, -on account of the tradition of Amroo
Bin Khurrm, as before recited.
Z a k a t is due upon gold and filver bullion, which is- termed
Tebbur: and in like manner upon ornaments or utenfils of o-old or
filver, whether the ufe thereof be allowable (fuch as rings, and fo
forth) or otherwife *.— Shafe'i maintains there is no Zakdt upon the
gold or filver ornaments of women, nor upon rings worn by men,
the ufe of which is allowable, and which are therefore the fame in
this rclpect as clothing or articles o f apparel.——The argument of
our dodtors is, that the caufe of the obligation to Zakdt ftill continues
in the prefent cafe:— moreover, articles of gold and filver do, in their
own nature, afford an argument of increafe in the fubjedt, fince
thefe .metals are brought into ufe principally for the purpofe of
facilitating exchanges .by traffick, which affords an argument of
-increafe; and it is the virtual and not the aklual increafe in any fubjedt
that creates the obligation to Zakat upon i t ; contrary to the cafe of
articles o f apparel, which afford no argument or probability of
increafe.
S E C T, IIL
O f the Z a k A t o f perfonal Chattel Property y .
Z akat is due upon articles of merchandize, of whatever defcrip-
tion, where the value amounts to a Nifdb either of gold or filver,
becaufe
* This alludes to prohibitions againft the ufe of the precious metals in certain articles
of perfonal ornament and houfehold furniture, which have been at various times iifued by
the prophet and his followers as checks upon luxury. (See Abominations.)
t In the original, perfonal chattels are expreffed by the terms Raiht and Mata, of which
it is not eafy to give any literal tranflation; they exprefs, in general, all articles which
appertain to perfonal eftate or effects [Ma/J: articles of gold and filver, it is true, do alfo
fell
becaufe the prophet ordained that articles of merchandize fhould be
appraifed, and'that a Zakat be paid on the fame, in the proportion
of five Dirms upon every two hundred * , as the proprietor has
prepared and keeps ' them with a view to increafe-, fo that they
refemble gold and filver, which the law holds to be kept for the fame
purpofe ; and, as Z a ka t. is due upon the latter, it is in like manner
due upon the former: but the intention of trade in thefe articles is
made a condition, in order that it may be afcertained that they are kept
with a view to increafe. Mohammed fays that, in eftimating the value Mode of af-
of articles of merchandize with a view to the impofition of Zakdt upon 'he M/&fof
them, they fhould be refolved into fuch Nifdbs as may be mod merchandize
advantageous to the poor; thus if, in valuing an article by Dirms, it
would amount to' a Nifab of fiv e r , and in valuing the fame by
Deenars, it would not amount to a Nifdb o i gold, it muft be eftimated
by Dirms-, and, vice-verfa, i f its^value fhould appear to amount to a
Nifdb o i gold, it is to be eftimated by Deenars.— T h e compiler of the
Heddya obferves that there is one opinion recorded from Haneefa to
the fame effedt. Mohammed again, in the Mabfoot, has laid that the
proprietor of the article has it in his option to eftimate it at whatever
fpecies of Nifdb he pleafes, becaufe gold and filver are ftandards, and
in eftimating the value of effedts are both equally proper,— I t is
recorded as an opinion of Aboo Yoofqf, that an article fhould be eftimated
by that with which it was purchafed : thus, i f it has been
purchafed with Dirms, it is to be appraifed in Dirms; and i f with
Deenars, it is to be appraifed in Deenars: and if it fhould have been
purchafed with any other than either of thefe, it is to be eftimated in
money of the moft general currency. — It is on the other hand
recorded, as an opinion of Mohammed, that whatever the purchafe may
have been made with, the eftimate is to be in current moneys as
fell under this general defcription of Rakht and ‘Mata; but they are introduced under a
different head, as the laws of Zakdt, with refpect to them,- are of a peculiar nature, and
fuch as do not affedt or apply to other articles, of perfonal property,
* T o wit, at the rate of two and an half per cent.
above,