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Honey: its medicinal use and zakat (asal)

العَسَل

In the lexicon, asal is the saliva of the bee, which God made a healing for people; the Arabs use the word for anything found sweet 1. Using honey as medicine is permitted, and most scholars read the Qur'anic verse as saying that honey contains healing 2. The Hanafis and Hanbalis hold that a tenth is due on honey, relying on prophetic and early reports, and the Hanafis require that the bees be on tithe land; the Malikis and Shafi'is hold that honey carries no zakat 2 3 4. The Hanbalis and al-Zuhri set its threshold at ten faraq; Abu Hanifa requires a tenth on any amount; Abu Yusuf takes value as the measure 4.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
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Worship and the pillarsEthics and character

Summary

In the lexicon, asal is the saliva of the bee, which God made a healing for people; the Arabs use the word for anything found sweet 1.

Honey as medicine

Using honey as medicine is permitted, and most scholars read the Qur'anic verse as saying that honey contains healing 2.

Zakat on honey

The Hanafis and Hanbalis hold that a tenth is due on honey; the Hanafis require that the bees be on tithe land 2 3. The Malikis and Shafi'is hold that honey carries no zakat 4. The Hanbalis and al-Zuhri set its threshold at ten faraq; Abu Hanifa requires a tenth on any amount 4.

People and things also explored

Openness as against secrecy in acts of worship, charity and public notice (alaniya)· Deliberate act (amd), as against error, and its rulings· Wounding an animal that cannot be taken (aqr) and its effect on lawfulness and liability· Resolve and its legal effect (azm)· Shahwa (desire: its effect on touch and ablution, on fasting and pilgrimage, on looking, on marriage by touch and on the breaking of the marriage bond)· Shakk (doubt in law: its kinds, the rule that certainty is not removed by doubt, and its effect on worship, contracts, penalties and evidence)· Halq (shaving and cutting hair)· Hay'a (the recommended forms of prayer, and the dignified offenders)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11602
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11603
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11604
  4. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11605
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Honey: its medicinal use and zakat (asal)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/asal/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Openness as against secrecy in acts of worship, charity and public notice (alaniya)

In the lexicon, alaniya comes from proclaiming and showing a thing, and is the opposite of secrecy. Public voice (jahr) is narrower than openness, and secrecy is what is hidden in the heart. Acts of worship divide by openness: some are prescribed to be public, such as the call to prayer, the sermon, jihad and enjoining good; some are better kept private, such as reciting silently in the silent prayer; and some may be either, such as charity. An obligatory alms-giving is better shown when there is no fear of showing off, so that others may follow it, while a voluntary gift is better hidden where display is feared. The faults of narrators, witnesses and those entrusted with charities and endowments must be made public when they affect their fitness, and the scholars hold this is not forbidden backbiting. The judge is recommended to proclaim the restraint of a bankrupt and to call witnesses to it, and one Shafi'i view makes it obligatory.