What Does ‘Ushr Mean, And What Is Its Religious Ground?

What does ‘ushr mean, and what is its religious ground?

‘Ushr literally means “one tenth”, and as a religious term, it means zakat of agricultural products. It is also cited in the Holy Qur’an that agricultural products are subject to zakat.

Allah the Almighty states: “O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned and from that which We have produced for you from the earth.” (Baqarah, 2/267) “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.’’ (An’am, 6/141)

The amount of zakat for these products were determined by the Prophet Muhammad (saw) himself. He said, “‘Ushr must be given one tenth for agricultural products watered by rainfalls and rivers, and one twentieth for the ones watered by buckets.” (Bukhari, Zakat, 55).

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWA