How is zakat given on livestock?

Zakat is also due on livestock such as sheep, goats, oxen, cows, camels, and horses that are grazed on pasture for more than half the year. Animals used for household work, as well as donkeys, mules, deer, and gazelles, are not subject to zakat.

The nisab (minimum threshold) for sheep and goats is 40 animals.

• Number of sheep (or goats)

• 1-39 –

• 40-120: 1 sheep (or goat)

• 121-200: 2 sheep (or goats)

• 201-399: 3 sheep (or goats)

• 400-499: 4 sheep (or goats)

After that, for every additional hundred, 1 more sheep is given. Sheep and goats are counted together.

The nisab for cattle is 30 head.

• Number of cattle

• 1-29 –

• 30-39: 1 one-year-old calf

• 40-59: 1 two-year-old calf

• 60-69: 2 one-year-old calves

• 70-79: 1 one-year-old calf and 1 two-year-old calf

• 80-89: 2 two-year-old calves

• 90-99: 3 one-year-old calves

• 100-109: 2 one-year-old calves and 1 two-year-old calf

• 110-119: 1 one-year-old calf and 2 two-year-old calves

• 120-129: 4 one-year-old calves or 3 two-year-old calves

For numbers above 40 but less than 60, nothing extra is given beyond the two-year-old calf. After that, the calculation changes for every ten cattle. Cows, oxen, calves, and heifers are all counted together. The gender of the calf given as zakat does not matter.

The nisab for camels is 5 animals.

• Number of camels

• 1-4 –

• 5-9: 1 sheep

• 10-14: 2 sheep

• 15-19: 3 sheep

• 20-24: 4 sheep

• 25-35: 1 young she-camel (over one year old, "bint makhad")

• 36-45: 1 young she-camel (over two years old, "bint labun")

• 46-60: 1 she-camel (over three years old, "hiqqa")

• 61-75: 1 she-camel (over four years old, "jazaa")

• 76-90: 2 young she-camels (over two years old, "bint labun")

• 91-120: 2 she-camels (over three years old, "hiqqa")

After that, for every additional five camels, 1 sheep is given, and for every 46 to 50 camels, an extra she-camel over three years old is added.

Zakat is also due on horses. The horses must be either all mares or a mix of stallions and mares, and their combined value must reach the nisab. The value of the horses is calculated in cash, and 2.5% (1/40) is given as zakat. Horses kept for riding or work, or those that are stall-fed, are not subject to zakat.

It is also permissible to give the cash equivalent of the livestock due for zakat. If the livestock reaches the nisab at the beginning of the year and increases during the year, zakat is calculated based on the amount at the end of the year[2].

Prepared by Hasan Amanqul

• [1] "Al-Fatawa al-Tatarkhaniyya fi al-Fiqh al-Hanafi", 2/6.

• [2] "Fath Bab al-Ghina bi Sharh Kitab al-Nuqaya", 2/39.