maunds and ten seers, or eighteen maunds and thirty-five and a half seers, or nearly a ton in the first case, and about two-thirds of a ton in the second.19
With the exception of animals, zakāt was levied at almost a uniform rate, being two and a half per cent of the accumulated wealth. In the case of animals, camels and sheep, detailed rules were laid down, and animals of a particular age were taken as zakāt when the herd reached a specified number.20 A perusal of the rates given in the footnote would show that, though there is a slight variation, yet in the main, the rate of two and a half per cent seems to have been kept in view. The case of one full-grown cow out of every forty cows, one she camel, two years old, out of every forty camels, and one goat out of forty goats, makes this clear.
The case of treasure-trove, out of which one-fifth was taken, is quite a different matter, and can hardly fall within the category of zakāt, since it cannot be said to be a thing which has remained in the full possession of the owner for one year. In such circumstances, where other governments would take the whole treasure, the Muslim state takes only a fifth. In case of ‘ushr, as already stated, it is not technically zakāt; it is really land revenue. The state takes only one-tenth of the produce of agricultural land when it is grown with the aid of rain-water or natural springs, and one-twentieth when irrigated by wells or other artificial means in which labour is engaged by the owner of the land (IM.8:17).
It will thus be seen that zakāt proper is only a charge on accumulated wealth, and is intended to do away with the inequalities of Capitalism. Wealth has a tendency to accumulate, and zakāt aims at its partial redistribution in such a manner that the community, as a whole, may derive advantage from it. A part of the amassed wealth or capital of every individual is taken away annually and distributed among the poor and the needy. Zakāt would therefore be payable on all cash hoardings, or hoardings in gold or silver, as well as on any
19 The difference arises from the measure of ṣā‘ which, according to the people of ‘Irāq, is eight raṭl in weight, and according to the people of Ḥijāz, five and one-third raṭl.
20 In the case of camels, the rule laid down was as follows: “One goat for five camels, and after that, one for each additional five or part of five, up to twenty-four. When the number reached twenty-five, a young she-camel, one year old, sufficed up to thirty-four. For thirty-five to forty-five, the age was raised to two years; for forty-six to sixty, to three years; for sixty-one to seventy-five, to four years. For seventy-six to ninety, two young she-camels of the age of two years were given as zakāt, for ninety-one to one hundred and twenty-four, two of the age of three years, and after that one she-camel of the age of two years for every forty camels, or one of the age of three years for every fifty camels, was to be added. In the case of goats and sheep, the zakāt was one goat or sheep for forty to one hundred and twenty, two for one hundred and twenty-one to two hundred, three for two hundred and one to three hundred, and after that one for each hundred or part of hundred (Bu. 24:38).In the case of cows, a one-year old calf for every thirty cows, and a two-year old one for every forty, is the rule laid down in a ḥadīth (Tr. 7:5). According to Bukhāri (Bu. 24:45), horses are exempt from zakāt. The reason appears to be that they were needed in time of war. Later jurists, however, consider horses to be taxable according to their value at the rate of 2-1/2 p.c. (H.I, p. 173).