THE CHAPTER ON ZAKAT · 13 – ESTIMATING THE AMOUNT OF GRAPES IN A VAT
It is narrated from Attab ibn Usayd, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded that just as dates are estimated on the tree and zakat is taken in dried dates, grapes should also be estimated on the tree and their zakat taken in dried grapes. [458]
**EXPLANATION:**
Abū Ḥanīfah does not permit this because taking the ushr (tithe) of fresh fruit from its dried form would ultimately lead to riba (interest). He states that this hadith occurred before the verse concerning riba was revealed. Other scholars, and according to the firm saying of Imam Shafi’i, hold that it is permissible to estimate how much dried grapes will come from fresh grapes and take the ushr accordingly. They say that it is an ease for the owner of the property. (Avn al-Mabūd, vol. 2, p. 24)
It was narrated to me on the same chain of narration and with the same meaning as the preceding hadith.