Start with how the field was watered
Sahih al-Bukhari 1483 gives the rule in one sentence: on land watered by rain, springs or natural channels, one-tenth is due; on land watered by lifting water, one-twentieth. The rate follows the effort and expense of watering, not the crop, the size of the farm or its profit.
- One-tenth (10%): barani land that depends on rain, land fed by springs, and land watered by natural flow.
- One-twentieth (5%): land watered from a well or tubewell, by pumping, or with water the farmer pays for.
In practice many Pakistani farms are not purely one or the other. A wheat crop may get rain for most of the season and two tubewell waterings. Scholars handle mixed watering in different ways, and the Ushr Calculator does not split the rate, so settle this question with your scholar before choosing an option.
A worked harvest: 3,200 kg of wheat
Take a harvest of 3,200 kg of wheat and an illustrative price of Rs 100 per kg. The price only converts the ushr into rupees; the obligation itself is a share of the crop.
| Watering | Rate | Ushr in wheat | Value | Left for the farmer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain-fed or natural flow | 10% | 320 kg | Rs 32,000 | 2,880 kg |
| Tubewell or paid water | 5% | 160 kg | Rs 16,000 | 3,040 kg |
The same harvest owes twice as much from a rain-fed field. Since the minimum below is 948 kg, it does not affect a harvest of this size.
Ushr (Ushar) CalculatorEnter your harvest, the watering method and your scholar's minimum to see the ushr in kilograms and its value at your price.The minimum harvest and the cliff at 948 kg
Sahih al-Bukhari 1484 says nothing is due on less than five wasqs. Pakistan's Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980 states five wasqs as 948 kg of wheat or its value for other crops. Other estimates of five wasqs are lower, around 612 to 653 kg. The Hanafi view, quoted in a Jamia Banuri Town fatwa, applies no minimum at all, so ushr is due on any harvest.
A minimum creates a sharp edge, because ushr applies to the whole harvest once it is reached, not just the part above it:
| Harvest | 948 kg minimum, 5% | 948 kg minimum, 10% | No minimum, 5% | No minimum, 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900 kg | Nothing due | Nothing due | 45 kg | 90 kg |
| 947 kg | Nothing due | Nothing due | 47.35 kg | 94.7 kg |
| 948 kg | 47.4 kg | 94.8 kg | 47.4 kg | 94.8 kg |
One extra kilogram moves a farmer from owing nothing to owing 47.4 kg or 94.8 kg under a minimum. Under the Hanafi view there is no edge: 900 kg owes 45 or 90 kg. If you follow a minimum, weigh carefully rather than estimating near the line.
Gross harvest, not profit
In the Hanafi view explained by Jamia Banuri Town, ushr is taken from the gross harvest. Seed, fertiliser, labour and tractor costs are not deducted, though costs after harvest such as transport and packing may be. The lower 5% rate for costly watering is already the allowance for expense.
Some contemporary scholars do allow deducting production costs. To see what that would mean, suppose the rain-fed farmer above spent Rs 80,000 on inputs. At Rs 100 per kg that is 800 kg, leaving 2,400 kg, and 10% of that is 240 kg instead of 320 kg. If your scholar permits a deduction, enter the reduced harvest in the calculator; it applies the rate to whatever quantity you enter.
The state ushr is a separate thing
Pakistan's Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980 and the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Act 2018 provide a compulsory state ushr of 5% of a landowner's share of the produce, with an exemption for produce below five wasqs (948 kg of wheat) and an exemption by sworn declaration of fiqh. That levy is assessed on each person's share, at one rate, under its own rules.
Your religious obligation follows the 10% or 5% rule above. Paying, or not being asked to pay, the state levy does not by itself settle it. Ask your scholar whether any state ushr you paid counts toward what you owe.
What this does not decide
- Which crops are subject to ushr. Schools differ on vegetables, fruit, fodder and other produce.
- How ushr is split between a landowner and a tenant or sharecropper, or under a cash lease.
- The rate for a season with mixed watering.
- Whether harvests of the same crop from different fields, or two harvests in a year, are added together before testing a minimum.
Ushr is the zakat of the harvest. Savings, gold and trade goods follow a different rule with a lunar year and a nisab; see the nisab in grams and tola explained. The fixed per-person charity at Eid is covered in how the Fitrana amount is set.