What is the ruling on the zakah of jewelry, land, and the house?
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The questioner : Regarding the zakah of jewelry, for example, if a person has more than one daughter and they have gold, is the condition that their combined total reaches the nisab, or is the condition that each one individually reaches the nisab?
The Shaykh : Do you mean a young girl or one who has not reached puberty?
The questioner : One who has not reached puberty, the one who has reached puberty.
The Shaykh : Okay, let us clarify the matter. One who has not reached puberty is not subject to any burden or religious obligation. So we move to the one who has reached puberty. In that case, it is not permissible to combine the value of these pieces of jewelry, because every person, as Allah the Exalted said in the Qur'an,[Al-Muddaththir 74:38].
CompanionThe Shaykh : Shaykh, I am going to go see the doctor. Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good.[Al-Muddaththir 74:38] Peace be upon you.
The questioner : And peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : How are you? I am well.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : The point is that every person who is of legal age is responsible for himself individually, as Allah the Exalted said:[An-Najm 53:39]. So if there are daughters of legal age in the house, and each one has jewelry that belongs specifically to her, then it is not permissible to mix the jewelry of all these girls. Rather, each one has her own calculation. If, for example, Fatimah's jewelry reaches the nisab, she pays the zakah.
The questioner : Her father pays the zakah.
The Shaykh : No, no, she ... .
The questioner : But she has no expenses, meaning she may not have any income to rely on, so she relies on her father!
The Shaykh : That is another issue. I wanted to clarify what follows, so I said that Fatimah's jewelry reached the nisab and a lunar year has passed over it, so she owes zakah. That is another issue. Whether she has liquidity or not is a separate matter. For example, her sister Aishah's jewelry also reached the nisab, so she is like her sister. But let us suppose now that Fatimah has half the nisab, and Aishah has one and a half nisabs. They are not combined, and she does not pay from her portion. Is that clear? Okay. If the matter is now clear, you will see that there is no problem with what you raised at the end of your speech. We say that if one of them does not have liquidity, that is a matter to be managed. In the best case, her father, mother, or brother helps her, etc. The important thing is that she pays zakah on this wealth. So if we suppose in the narrowest of circumstances that no one around her pays the zakah for her, then she must pay it from the jewelry itself, even if it falls below the nisab, for that is better for her and more lasting. Is that clear? Okay.
The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah bless you. Is reaching the age of maturity a condition for zakah?
The Shaykh : Yes, no person is held accountable for any act of worship until he reaches the age of maturity, as I said, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him)Sunan Abi Dawud 4402. Therefore, the jurists differed regarding the guardian of an orphan who has not reached the age of maturity: is he obligated to pay the zakah of this orphan's wealth if it reaches the nisab, or not? There are two opinions: one is what you heard just now, and the other is that it is obligatory for the guardian of the orphan to pay the zakah of the orphan's wealth, because there is a hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others Muwatta Malik 17:14, but the hadith is weak. And please, go ahead.
The questioner : I have one more question: does zakah relate to the item itself or to the liability?
The Shaykh : To the item itself.
The questioner : Is it a right on the item or a right on the liability?
The Shaykh : A right on the item.
The questioner : So it has no relation to the year?
The Shaykh : As long as it is a right on the item, it has no relation to the year.
The Shaykh : But the right on the item is in the sense that the poor person benefits from it, whereas the issue of religious obligation has already been answered.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you as well.
The Shaykh : I felt this, which is why I hinted at it to you.
The questioner : And if he had a shop of intoxicants, and this person was the guardian of this shop, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that this shop be emptied, does that not indicate that the guardian is the one who pays zakah on his behalf?
The Shaykh : What does he have?
The questioner : A shop. A shop.
The Shaykh : What is a shop?
The questioner : I mean a place, a factory of intoxicants. When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that it be emptied, he said this was for orphans, and said: Empty it.The Shaykh : Empty it, not spill it.
The questioner : Does that not indicate that the guardian of this child, for example, or his agent, can do so?
The Shaykh : This has no relation to that. Its relation is that it is not permissible to benefit from what Allah has forbidden. Do you see how it is? Because the question was, so he prevented him from benefiting from it for the sake of the orphans, and the hadith has no relation to zakah. Is that clear?
The questioner : Yes, it is clear.
The questioner : We are sorry, we did not know your name.
The Shaykh : My name is Muhammad Nasser al-Din al-Albani.
The questioner : There is no god but Allah.
The Shaykh : There is no god but Allah.
The questioner : How are you? May Allah welcome you.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. How are you?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah. We knew you from your writings, but we did not know you personally until today.
The Shaykh : We ask Allah to gather us upon guidance and piety, and upon the Sunnah of the Chosen One (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : O Allah, accept our supplication.
The Shaykh : Do you mean a young girl or one who has not reached puberty?
The questioner : One who has not reached puberty, the one who has reached puberty.
The Shaykh : Okay, let us clarify the matter. One who has not reached puberty is not subject to any burden or religious obligation. So we move to the one who has reached puberty. In that case, it is not permissible to combine the value of these pieces of jewelry, because every person, as Allah the Exalted said in the Qur'an,
Every soul, for what it has earned, will be retained
كل نفس بما كسبت رهينةCompanionThe Shaykh : Shaykh, I am going to go see the doctor. Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good.
Every soul, for what it has earned, will be retained
كل نفس بما كسبت رهينةThe questioner : And peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : How are you? I am well.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : The point is that every person who is of legal age is responsible for himself individually, as Allah the Exalted said:
And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
وأن ليس للإنسان إلا ما سعىThe questioner : Her father pays the zakah.
The Shaykh : No, no, she ... .
The questioner : But she has no expenses, meaning she may not have any income to rely on, so she relies on her father!
The Shaykh : That is another issue. I wanted to clarify what follows, so I said that Fatimah's jewelry reached the nisab and a lunar year has passed over it, so she owes zakah. That is another issue. Whether she has liquidity or not is a separate matter. For example, her sister Aishah's jewelry also reached the nisab, so she is like her sister. But let us suppose now that Fatimah has half the nisab, and Aishah has one and a half nisabs. They are not combined, and she does not pay from her portion. Is that clear? Okay. If the matter is now clear, you will see that there is no problem with what you raised at the end of your speech. We say that if one of them does not have liquidity, that is a matter to be managed. In the best case, her father, mother, or brother helps her, etc. The important thing is that she pays zakah on this wealth. So if we suppose in the narrowest of circumstances that no one around her pays the zakah for her, then she must pay it from the jewelry itself, even if it falls below the nisab, for that is better for her and more lasting. Is that clear? Okay.
The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah bless you. Is reaching the age of maturity a condition for zakah?
The Shaykh : Yes, no person is held accountable for any act of worship until he reaches the age of maturity, as I said, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him)
There are three (people) whose actions are not recorded: A boy till he reaches puberty, a sleeper till he awakes, a lunatic till he is restored to reason.
رفع القلم عن ثلاثة : عن الصبي حتى ييلغ ، وعن النائم حتى يستيقظ، وعن المجنون حتى يفيقTrade with the property of orphans and then it will not be eaten away by zakat.
اتجروا في أموال اليتامى لا تأكلها الصدقةThe questioner : I have one more question: does zakah relate to the item itself or to the liability?
The Shaykh : To the item itself.
The questioner : Is it a right on the item or a right on the liability?
The Shaykh : A right on the item.
The questioner : So it has no relation to the year?
The Shaykh : As long as it is a right on the item, it has no relation to the year.
The Shaykh : But the right on the item is in the sense that the poor person benefits from it, whereas the issue of religious obligation has already been answered.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you as well.
The Shaykh : I felt this, which is why I hinted at it to you.
The questioner : And if he had a shop of intoxicants, and this person was the guardian of this shop, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that this shop be emptied, does that not indicate that the guardian is the one who pays zakah on his behalf?
The Shaykh : What does he have?
The questioner : A shop. A shop.
The Shaykh : What is a shop?
The questioner : I mean a place, a factory of intoxicants. When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that it be emptied, he said this was for orphans, and said: Empty it.The Shaykh : Empty it, not spill it.
The questioner : Does that not indicate that the guardian of this child, for example, or his agent, can do so?
The Shaykh : This has no relation to that. Its relation is that it is not permissible to benefit from what Allah has forbidden. Do you see how it is? Because the question was
I have orphans, and they have a sack of intoxicants. Should I sell it? Should I sell it? Should I sell it? He said: No, but empty it.
لي إيتام ولهم زقاق من الخمر أفأبيعها أفأبيعها أفأبيعها قال : لا ، بل اهرقهاThe questioner : Yes, it is clear.
The questioner : We are sorry, we did not know your name.
The Shaykh : My name is Muhammad Nasser al-Din al-Albani.
The questioner : There is no god but Allah.
The Shaykh : There is no god but Allah.
The questioner : How are you? May Allah welcome you.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. How are you?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah. We knew you from your writings, but we did not know you personally until today.
The Shaykh : We ask Allah to gather us upon guidance and piety, and upon the Sunnah of the Chosen One (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : O Allah, accept our supplication.