26 Ramadan 1447 AH corresponding to March 15, 2026
Question: As is well-known in the lands of Ṣaʿdah and elsewhere, farmers own trees such as sidr—that is, al-ʿalab—and al-ṭalḥ. Some own them from after their fathers and grandfathers, and they do not know whether the latter had purchased them or had improved them when they sprouted on their property. Is khums obligatory on these trees? If khums is not obligatory, is zakat due on them—bearing in mind that the owner only cuts them every three or four years? That is if the owner inherited them from his father or grandfather.
And if a tree of ʿalab or ṭalḥ sprouts in a man’s field and he prunes it, what is due upon it—khums, zakat, or nothing?
Answer—and Allah is the Granter of success: Whatever of the aforementioned trees a person owns after his father, he is not obliged to pay khums on it nor to pay zakat on behalf of his father or grandfather—because it is possible that they did not do so; and the default regarding the original owner is ignorance of the obligation of khums and zakat in that. The ignorant person’s ruling follows that of whomever he agrees with; the matter is disputed, and its time has passed—therefore the heir is not obliged to pay zakat or khums on behalf of the deceased.
As for zakat on al-ʿalab: it is due if al-ʿalab and the like are owned property, and that is when the time of cutting arrives—for that is tantamount to the time of harvest—so one-tenth (ʿushr) or half of one-tenth is paid.
But if al-ʿalab and the like sprout—on one’s land or elsewhere—and he trains (propagates) and trims them, then zakat is due on them at the time of cutting, as we have mentioned above.
Source : Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1