Is zakat obligatory on fed sheep, and what is their nisab?

The preponderant opinion among scholars – which is the view of the majority – is that there is no obligation to pay zakat on fodder-fed sheep, based on established prophetic traditions, including the hadith of Abu Bakr: "Regarding the charity (zakat) on sheep, for pasturing sheep, if they are forty to one hundred and twenty, then a ewe."

However, if they are commercial goods (trade commodities), and their value reaches the minimum threshold (nisab), and a year has passed over them (hawl), then their zakat becomes obligatory, even if they are fodder-fed. The nisab for sheep is forty ewes, in which case one ewe is due. If they reach one hundred and twenty-one, then two ewes are due. If they reach two hundred and one, then three ewes are due, and thereafter, one ewe for every hundred ewes.