Dates are one of the greatest blessings from God to His servants. Dates are a beneficial and nutritious food. God has greatly blessed His tree, as He said: “And from the fruits of the palm trees and grapevines you take intoxicant and good provision.” The palm tree was mentioned first due to its many benefits, and its fruit was called good provision. God praised the palm tree and its fruit, saying: “And the palm trees – having fruit arranged in layers.” This means the fruit is stacked one upon another. Because of this, all humanity loves it and nourishes themselves with it.

Because of this, God made zakat obligatory on dates so that poor Muslims would not be deprived of them, and so that zakat would be a cause of blessing and growth for the fruit and purification for the giver’s heart. As God said: “And give its due on the day of its harvest.” Its due is what God has prescribed for the zakat recipients, which is a small portion of the dates – not the fresh ones – estimated by Islamic law at 5% if irrigated by machine and expense, or 10% if irrigated by rain or river water. This zakat is distributed in its eight prescribed channels and is given in the form of dates, which is best for the benefit of the needy, or its monetary value.

The UAE Council for Islamic Legislation held a blessed seminar on the first of this month discussing all aspects of zakat on dates. It began by highlighting God’s blessing on the country with this tree and the care given by the blessed state since its founding by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, who transformed desert sand into a lush oasis of palm trees and various colored trees. Following his footsteps, the wise leadership doubled efforts to care for the palms until the entire UAE became a palm oasis with about 40 million palm trees and hundreds of thousands of tons of various types of dates. As a result, the country’s goodness reached many countries through food aid, relief, and luxurious gifts.

The important matter in the seminar was clarifying the obligation of zakat on dates. The council gave special care to estimating the amount to be given as zakat according to current weights, which is estimated at 541 kilograms, known in Islamic law as five ‘aswa’. It includes 5%. The council chose not to count what is eaten fresh or as ‘basr’ (early dates), following the Prophet’s guidance who said to those who harvest dates: “If you harvest, take and leave one-third. If you do not take or leave one-third, then leave one-quarter,” to provide ease to the palm owner. The zakat on dates can be given in cash, based on the sale value if sold, or if the owner wishes to keep it for gifts, eating, or charity, he must give the value of the required amount, which is 5% of the market value of his dates.