Q: If a person has animals that are grazing on his land without him feeding them himself, will they be zakatable even though they only graze on his privately owned land (which is fenced off)? The animals are only for breeding or milking. The animals referred to are cows. I know that there is zakat if they are freely grazing but I am unsure if they are counted as freely grazing if they are doing so on privately owned and fenced off land? If possible, could you please provide a reference to the answer?
A: If the cows are not purchased with the intention of resale, then it will be seen whether they are fodder fed or left to graze freely. If they are fodder fed then zakaat will not be waajib upon them irrespective of whether they are kept with the intention of selling the milk or for breeding. If they are left to graze freely for the entire year, then zakaat will be waajib provided they reach nisaab. If they are partially fodder fed and partially left to graze freely then the major portion of the year will be taken into consideration i.e. if they graze freely for more than six months, then zakaat will be waajib otherwise not.
To view the nisaab of cows, refer to http://muftionline.co.za/node/220.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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