Short answer
Yes. Zakat on crops and fruit is called ushr. It is a tenth of the harvest when the land is watered by rain, rivers or springs, and a twentieth when it is irrigated at cost, due at harvest with no waiting year. In the Hanafi school it applies to any amount; the other schools set a minimum of five wasq.
Imam Abu Hanifa's view, which the Hanafi fatwa follows, is that ushr is due on everything grown to be harvested for profit, vegetables and fruit included, in any quantity, with no deduction for costs. His two students set the five wasq minimum and limited it to produce that keeps.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Only staple foods that can be stored, such as wheat, barley, rice, dates and raisins, once they reach five wasq. No ushr on vegetables or most fruit.
- Maliki
- Staple foods that can be stored, plus some named crops such as olives, once they reach five wasq.
- Hanbali
- Grains and fruits that are measured by volume and stored, once they reach five wasq.
Explanation
Ushr means a tenth. The Quran says to give the due of crops on the day of harvest (6:141), and the Prophet ﷺ set the rates:
- A tenth on land watered by rain, rivers, springs or its own roots.
- A twentieth on land watered by effort or cost: pumps, wells, bought water.
- If both are used, the one used for most of the season decides.
Unlike other zakat, ushr has no waiting year. It is due on each harvest, even two or three in one year. In the Hanafi school it is taken from the gross harvest: costs such as seed, fertiliser and labour are not deducted first. It may be paid in produce or its value.
Abu Hanifa applied it to all produce grown for profit, including vegetables, fruit and flowers, but not to firewood, grass or reeds, and he set no minimum. His students Abu Yusuf and Muhammad agreed with the other schools on a minimum of five wasq, a large measure of volume, and limited it to produce that keeps. The Hanafi fatwa follows Abu Hanifa here.
In Hanafi law ushr belongs to land classed as ushri, and land under kharaj paid a land tax instead. For farmland in countries such as the US, UK and Canada, which was never classed either way, Hanafi muftis differ on whether ushr is strictly binding. Many advise paying it as the safer course, so ask a mufti about your farm.
Money you later save from selling the harvest is zakated in the normal way on your zakat date (see do Muslims pay tithes).
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-An'aam 6:141
۞ وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنشَأَ جَنَّٰتٍۢ مَّعْرُوشَٰتٍۢ وَغَيْرَ مَعْرُوشَٰتٍۢ وَٱلنَّخْلَ وَٱلزَّرْعَ مُخْتَلِفًا أُكُلُهُۥ وَٱلزَّيْتُونَ وَٱلرُّمَّانَ مُتَشَٰبِهًۭا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَٰبِهٍۢ ۚ كُلُوا۟ مِن ثَمَرِهِۦٓ إِذَآ أَثْمَرَ وَءَاتُوا۟ حَقَّهُۥ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ ﴿١٤١﴾
And He it is who causes gardens to grow, [both] trellised and untrellised, and palm trees and crops of different [kinds of] food and olives and pomegranates, similar and dissimilar. Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.
Crops carry their due at harvest, not after a year.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1483
Sahih... العشر وما سقي بالنضح نصف العشر ...
"On what is watered by rain and springs, or draws water by its roots, a tenth; on what is watered by irrigation, half a tenth."
The two rates of ushr.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1447
Sahih... وليس فيما دون خمسة أوسق صدقة ...
"There is no zakat on less than five wasq."
The basis for the minimum held by the other schools and by Abu Hanifa's students.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on the zakat of crops and fruit. Abu Hanifa's view of ushr on little and much, and the view of his two students.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on ushr. Ushr is taken without deducting the costs of farming.
- Minhaj al-Talibin, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on the zakat of crops. The Shafi'i limits: staple stored foods and five wasq.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.