livestock; because their growth is complete, they are utilized for their milk and meat, their kind can be sacrificed as an offering (udhiyah), they serve as guidance (hady), and as a ransom for the prohibitions of Ihram. Zakat is obligatory from their own kind, their threshold (nisab) is considered, and their value is not considered; horses are the opposite.

415 - Issue: He said: (And sadaqah is not obligatory except upon free Muslims).

In some copies: "Except upon the free Muslims." Their meaning is the same, which is that zakat is not obligatory except upon a free Muslim with complete ownership. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars, and we know of no disagreement regarding it except from Ata' and Abu Thawr, for they both said: The slave owes zakat on his wealth. Our argument is that the slave does not have complete ownership, so zakat is not incumbent upon him, like the mukatab (an indentured slave). As for the disbeliever, there is no disagreement that zakat is not upon him. When any of these individuals becomes of those upon whom zakat is due, and he is the owner of the nisab, he starts a new year and then pays zakat on it. As for the free Muslim, if he possesses a nisab that is free from debt, zakat is due upon him at the completion of his year, whether he is an adult or a child, sane or insane.

416 - Issue: He said: (And the guardian of the child and the insane person shall pay on their behalf).

The sum of this is that zakat is obligatory on the wealth of the child and the insane person, due to the presence of the three conditions in them. This was narrated from Umar, Ali, Ibn Umar, Aisha, al-Hasan ibn Ali, and Jabir (may Allah be pleased with them). This was also the opinion of Jabir ibn Zayd, Ibn Sirin, Ata', Mujahid, Rabi'ah, Malik, al-Hasan ibn Salih, Ibn Abi Layla, al-Shafi'i, al-'Anbari, Ibn 'Uyaynah, Ishaq, Abu Ubayd, and Abu Thawr. It was related from Ibn Mas'ud, al-Thawri, and al-Awza'i that they said: Zakat is obligatory, but it is not disbursed until he reaches puberty