seventy mithqals. Then, another mithqal was added to the ratl, which is a dirham and three-sevenths of a dirham (3), so it became seventy-one mithqals, and its weight in dirhams reached one hundred and thirty dirhams. Consideration is given to the first [weight] before the increase; thus, the sa' according to the Damascene ratl—which is six hundred dirhams—is one ratl and a seventh, which is an uqiyah and five-sevenths of an uqiyah. The total of the five wasqs according to the Damascene ratl is three hundred and forty-two ratls, ten uqiyahs, and a seventh of an uqiyah, which is six-sevenths of a ratl.

Section: The nisa' (threshold) is determined by volume, for wasqs are a measure of volume. They were only converted to weight in order to be regulated, preserved, and transported. For this reason, the obligation of Zakah is linked to measurable items rather than weighable items. Measurable items differ in weight; among them are heavy ones, such as wheat and lentils; light ones, such as barley and millet; and those that are in between. Ahmad has explicitly stated that the sa' is five and one-third Iraqi ratls of wheat. A group [of narrators] narrated from him that he said: "I weighed the sa' and found it to be five and two-thirds ratls of wheat." Hanbal said: Ahmad said: I took the sa' from Abu al-Nadr (5), and Abu al-Nadr said: I took it from Ibn Abi Dhi'b, who said: "This is the sa' of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which is known in Medina." Abu 'Abd Allah said: So we took lentils and measured with it, as it is the most suitable [grain] to be measured with because it does not shift from its position. We measured with it [and then weighed it] (7), and it was five and one-third ratls. [He said: This is the most correct] (8) of what we have arrived at and what has been clarified for us regarding the sa' of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Some scholars said: The people of the Two Holy Cities (Mecca and Medina) agreed that the mudd of the Prophet