Is the mother obligated to pay zakat on her sheep, jointly owned with her brother, after two years have passed? Is it permissible to pay the value of the zakat in cash instead of sheep? Is she obligated to pay zakat on behalf of her son if he refuses to pay his own zakat?

Zakat is obligatory on pasturing sheep (al-ghanam as-sa'imah) if they reach forty head or more. One sheep is due for every forty head until they reach 120, after which the zakat increases. A condition for sheep to be zakatable is that they must be pasturing (feeding on permissible forage). Zakat is not obligatory on fodder-fed sheep (al-ghanam al-ma'lufah) unless they are for trade.

If sheep belonging to more than one person combine and reach the nisab, zakat becomes obligatory on them, provided they share in five aspects: the ram, the pen, the pasture, the milking place, and the resting place. The zakat is then paid as if it were the wealth of one person, and the partners divide the value among themselves.

Zakat from mixed sheep is paid with a thani from goats (one year old) or a jadha' from sheep (six months old). If one of the partners refuses to pay their share, the legal ruling should be explained to them. If they persist in refusal, the one who paid the zakat may reclaim the value of their share from them. It is permissible to pay the value of zakat in cash when necessary. Zakat is a right of the poor and does not lapse with the passage of years. If the number of sheep falls below forty during the hawl (zakat year), no zakat is due on them until they reach forty, and the hawl is calculated from the time they reach this number.