Islamic Fiqh > Zakat > Livestock zakat: camels, cattle and sheep
Livestock zakat's thresholds and scales, its grazing and year conditions, and the collection limits fixed by the Prophet.
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Updated on 31 August 2026 at 3:55 AM
Zakat on freely grazing livestock rests on the letter Abu Bakr wrote to Bilal heading to Bahrain, reported by Anas: « This is the ordinance of the charity that the Messenger of Allah prescribed for the Muslims, and that Allah commanded His Messenger... » (al-Bukhari 1386, Abu Dawud 1567, an-Nasa'i), and on the Prophet's letter (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) kept by Ibn Umar and applied by the caliphs (Abu Dawud 1568, at-Tirmidhi 621, authentic hadith).
Added to threshold and year are two conditions: established ownership, and grazing: the animal feeds on the pasture for most of the year. The majority (Hanafis, Shafiites, Hanbalis) exclude the hand-fed animal, the costs of feeding cancelling growth; Malikis impose zakat even on the fed animal, its upkeep being only added enjoyment. If the fed animal is prepared for trade, it falls back under trade zakat.
Consensus covers the grid up to one hundred and twenty: from five to nine camels, one sheep; ten to fourteen, two; fifteen to nineteen, three; twenty to twenty-four, four; twenty-five to thirty-five, a she-camel of one year; thirty-six to forty-five, a she-camel of two years; forty-six to sixty, a she-camel of three years; sixty-one to seventy-five, a she-camel of four years; seventy-six to ninety, two she-camels of two years; ninety-one to one hundred and twenty, two she-camels of three years. Beyond: Abu Hanifa restarts the series in blocks of five sheep then one three-year she-camel per fifty; al-Shafii and Ahmad in the dominant narration follow Abu Bakr's letter: « if it exceeds one hundred and twenty, for every forty a two-year she-camel, for every fifty a three-year she-camel », a single animal changing the amount (al-Bukhari 1386); Ahmad and Malik in another narration wait for the full ten, and Malik in the dominant line leaves the collector the choice between three two-year or two three-year she-camels. At twenty-five livestock begins; at four nothing is due save the owner's generosity. Substitution is tolerated: in place of a two-year she-camel, a three-year one with twenty dirhams or two sheep is accepted, and never an old or defective beast.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent me to Yemen and ordered me to take from every thirty bullocks a bull or a heifer, and from every forty a two-year-old cow.Abu Dawud 1576, at-Tirmidhi 623, Ibn Majah 1803, an-Nasa'i 2450
The four imams agree on thirty as the first threshold with a bull or heifer, then forty with a two-year-old cow. Malik, al-Shafii and Ahmad: nothing until sixty, which carry two bullocks; seventy, one bullock and one cow; eighty, two cows; ninety, three bullocks; one hundred, two bullocks and one cow; the series changes every ten. Three narrations from Abu Hanifa, one with a quarter of a cow on the surplus, and his two companions on the majority grid.
Abu Bakr's letter fixes the series: from forty to one hundred and twenty sheep, one sheep; one hundred twenty-one to two hundred, two; two hundred one to three hundred, three; beyond three hundred, one sheep per hundred. Thirty-nine sheep: nothing, « unless their Lord wills » through generosity. The sheep given must be two years old; the goat is not its equivalent by the text.
Horses, mules and donkeys carry no zakat of their own, the Prophet having exempted « the horse and the servant » (al-Bukhari 1461, Muslim 980); prepared for trade they follow trade zakat in every school, assessed by value; a hadith fixing one dinar per grazing mare is judged fabricated (ad-Daraqutni).