The Nisab of Gold and Silver, and Paper Currency Attached to It.

The Shaykh : However, zakah is not obligatory in gold and silver unless they reach the nisab. The nisab of gold is twenty mithqals, and the nisab of silver is one hundred and forty mithqals. I have calculated this, and it amounts to eighty-five grams of gold, slightly more or slightly less. For silver, it is fifty-six silver riyals, or the equivalent in paper currency. Naturally, as we all know, the value of paper currency sometimes rises and sometimes falls. When these paper notes were first issued, one note was equal to one silver riyal. But now, one note is equal to only about one-tenth of a silver riyal. In other words, one silver riyal is equal to ten of these paper notes. If we estimate that the value of one silver riyal is ten of these paper notes, then what is the nisab in these paper notes? It is five hundred and sixty. If it is more, then it is calculated accordingly. For example, if a woman has gold jewelry weighing only eighty grams, there is no zakah in it. Why? Because it has not reached the nisab. Likewise, if a person has fifty silver riyals, there is no zakah in them. If a person has half the nisab of wheat and half the nisab of barley, is zakah obligatory on both? No, it is not obligatory, even though the purpose of both is the same, which is to serve as food. Similarly, gold and silver are not combined with each other to complete the nisab, unless they are for trade.