Does selling a portion of livestock (40 sheep) midway through the Hawl (annual period) nullify the completion of the Hawl for the remaining portion?
Chapter on Zakat on Sheep
Al-Mughni
Book of Zakat
Primary text
According to Abu Bakr, the Hawl is broken, and a new Hawl must commence from the time of the sale regarding the remaining portion. This is because the purchased portion had its Hawl interrupted, making it as if it never counted towards the Zakah Hawl originally, thus necessitating the interruption of the Hawl for the remainder.
Supporting text
Ibn Hamid holds that the Hawl is not broken for the portion remaining with the original seller. He reasons that the occurrence of mixing (khiltah) does not prevent the initiation of the Hawl, nor does it prevent its continuation. Furthermore, if the entire amount had been mixed with another's wealth for the whole year, Zakah would be due; thus, mixing it with one's own wealth for part of the year and another's for the remainder mandates Zakah. The invalidation of the Hawl only applies to the sold portion due to the transfer of ownership.