Fiqh-us-Sunnah - 3.22

Hadith 3.22.1

Plants and Fruits Which Were Not Subject to Zakah

Zakah was not levied on vegetables or fruit, with the exception of grapes and fresh dates (rutab). 'Ata ibn as-Sa'ib reported that 'Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah wanted to levy sadaqah on Musa ibn Talha's vegetables. The latter objected, saying: "You have no right to do that.
The Messenger of Allah used to say: 'There is no sadaqah on this [vegetables].' " This is related by ad-Daraqutni, alHakim, and al-Athram in his Sunan. This hadith is mursal.
Musa ibn Talhah says: "Five things [which were subject to zakah] were mentioned by the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace: barley, wheat, sult [a kind of barley having no husk], raisins, and dates. Whatever else the land produces is not subject to the 'ushr. It is also reported that Mu'adh did not levy sadaqah on vegetables."
Commenting on the status of these reports, al-Baihaqi says: "All of these hadith are of the mursal kind but were reported from different authorities. Nevertheless, they confirm each other." The hadith on this subject include the sayings of 'Umar, 'Ali, and 'Aishah.
Al-Athram narrated that one of Caliph 'Umar's governors wrote to him conceming grape plantations, including peaches and pomegranates which produced twice as much harvest as the grapes. He wrote back: "There is no 'ushr (tithe) on them. They pertain to 'udah--items that cannot be distributed in inheritance."
At-Tirmidhi agrees with the preceding and says: "The practice [based upon this] among most jurists is not to levy sadaqah on vegetables." Al-Qurtubi also supports this: "Zakah is to be levied on the muqtat [land products used as stable food] and not on vegetables." In at-Ta'if, they used to grow pomegranates, peaches, and citrus, but there is no confirmation that the Prophet and his successors levied zakah on them.
Ibn al-Qayyim contends: "It was not his [the Prophet's] practice to levy zakah on horses, slaves, mules, donkeys, and vegetables, melons, cucumbers, and fruits, which cannot be stored or measured by capacity. The only exceptions were grapes and fresh dates. On the latter two kinds, zakah was levied as a whole, without differentiation whether or not they were dry."