What is the amount of zakah due on the nisab of gold, and what is the amount of the nisab in gold and silver?
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The questioner : He says: What is the amount of zakah due on the nisab of gold, and what is the amount of the nisab in gold and silver? Is zakah due on the money I bring back with me from my work outside my country? And if zakah is due, is it calculated only on what is with me, or on what I sent to my family in previous years for expenses and for a piece of land to build a house on? And is it permissible to consider what I pay to my brother for school expenses and the like as part of the zakah, or is zakah not permissible for my brother?
The Shaykh : This question contains several issues. The first is the nisab of gold and silver.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The nisab of gold is twenty mithqals.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it equals eighty-five grams.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the nisab of silver, it is one hundred and forty mithqals, which equals fifty-six Saudi riyals in Saudi silver dirhams. As for the money you earn in a country other than your own, zakah is due on it just as if you had earned it in your own country. Once a lunar year has passed, you must pay its zakah. What you spent on your family before the completion of the lunar year, or on yourself, has no zakah due on it, because one of the conditions for the obligation of zakah is the completion of the lunar year. As for what you give your brother for his school expenses, if you are obligated to provide for him, then this is part of his maintenance, so you do not count it as zakah. However, if you are not obligated to provide for him because the father is present, then you may count it as zakah, as long as your father is unable to provide for him. Giving maintenance or charity to eligible relatives is better than giving charity to others, because it combines charity with maintaining family ties. Yes.
The questioner : And regarding the piece of land he wants to build a house on?
The Shaykh : As for the piece of land he wants to build a residence on, there is no zakah due on it, because all trade goods, or all items that are not subject to zakah in their original nature, have no zakah unless they are prepared for trade. If it is prepared for residence, household use, or the like, there is nothing due on it. However, gold and silver, even if they are used jewelry, have zakah due on them according to the stronger opinion, if they reach the nisab.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This question contains several issues. The first is the nisab of gold and silver.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The nisab of gold is twenty mithqals.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it equals eighty-five grams.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the nisab of silver, it is one hundred and forty mithqals, which equals fifty-six Saudi riyals in Saudi silver dirhams. As for the money you earn in a country other than your own, zakah is due on it just as if you had earned it in your own country. Once a lunar year has passed, you must pay its zakah. What you spent on your family before the completion of the lunar year, or on yourself, has no zakah due on it, because one of the conditions for the obligation of zakah is the completion of the lunar year. As for what you give your brother for his school expenses, if you are obligated to provide for him, then this is part of his maintenance, so you do not count it as zakah. However, if you are not obligated to provide for him because the father is present, then you may count it as zakah, as long as your father is unable to provide for him. Giving maintenance or charity to eligible relatives is better than giving charity to others, because it combines charity with maintaining family ties. Yes.
The questioner : And regarding the piece of land he wants to build a house on?
The Shaykh : As for the piece of land he wants to build a residence on, there is no zakah due on it, because all trade goods, or all items that are not subject to zakah in their original nature, have no zakah unless they are prepared for trade. If it is prepared for residence, household use, or the like, there is nothing due on it. However, gold and silver, even if they are used jewelry, have zakah due on them according to the stronger opinion, if they reach the nisab.
The questioner : Yes.