Is there zakah on the jewelry a woman wears, with evidence?
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The questioner : And this questioner says: Is there zakah on the jewelry a woman wears? With evidence? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Yes, there is scholarly disagreement regarding the jewelry a woman wears: some said there is no zakah on it, some said there is zakah on it once a year, and some said there is zakah on it every year. And if the issue is one of disagreement among scholars, it is obligatory to return to Allah and His Messenger, by His saying, the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:59].
And when we return to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in this issue, we find that the evidence is with those who say that zakah on jewelry is obligatory. Many scholars have chosen this view; it is the madhhab of Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) and his followers, a narration from Imam Ahmad, and it was chosen by our Shaykh, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (may Allah grant him understanding), among contemporary scholars. This is the stronger position, because if the evidence supports it, it is obligatory to adopt it and set aside what is other than it.
The evidence: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:[Ali 'Imran 3:180] And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: [At-Tawbah 9:34] And what is meant by hoarding gold and silver is not paying the zakah on them and what is required to be paid out. So hoarding is that on which zakah is not paid, even if it is on the surface of the earth, and what is buried and its zakah is paid is not hoarding.
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as narrated by Muslim from Abu Hurayrah:Sahih Muslim 987a to the end of the hadith. And if jewelry is with a woman, she is the owner of gold, if her jewelry is of gold, or silver, if her jewelry is of silver. This is a general hadith, so whoever claims that jewelry is excluded from it, he must provide the evidence.
And there are specific pieces of evidence, among them the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As: So this is also a specific text indicating the obligation of zakah on gold.
Then, the matter of zakah is easy, praise be to Allah. How much is obligatory on one hundred riyals? Two and a half riyals. And zakah is not obligatory on gold unless it reaches the nisab, which is eighty-five grams in gold, and five hundred and ninety-five grams in silver. So the matter, praise be to Allah, is easy, and it is very easy for the woman whom Allah has blessed with jewelry to pay its zakah.
But if she does not have cash, and her husband or her father or her brother pays it for her, is that permissible?
The answer: Yes, it is permissible. And if her father or her brother or one of her awliya (guardians) refuses to pay it for her, and she does not have any money from which to pay it, it is obligatory for her to sell an amount of her jewelry equal to the zakah and pay the zakah.
So if she says: If I sell a portion of it every year, it will run out?
The answer: It will not run out, because if it reaches a level that is less than the nisab, zakah is not obligatory on it.
The Shaykh : Yes, there is scholarly disagreement regarding the jewelry a woman wears: some said there is no zakah on it, some said there is zakah on it once a year, and some said there is zakah on it every year. And if the issue is one of disagreement among scholars, it is obligatory to return to Allah and His Messenger, by His saying, the Exalted:
And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.
فإن تنازعتم في شيء فردوه إلى الله والرسول إن كنتم تؤمنون بالله واليوم الآخر ذلك خير وأحسن تأويلاAnd when we return to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in this issue, we find that the evidence is with those who say that zakah on jewelry is obligatory. Many scholars have chosen this view; it is the madhhab of Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) and his followers, a narration from Imam Ahmad, and it was chosen by our Shaykh, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (may Allah grant him understanding), among contemporary scholars. This is the stronger position, because if the evidence supports it, it is obligatory to adopt it and set aside what is other than it.
The evidence: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
And let not those who [greedily] withhold what Allah has given them of His bounty ever think that it is better for them. Rather, it is worse for them. Their necks will be encircled by what they withheld on the Day of Resurrection
ولا يحسبن الذين يبخلون بما آتاهم الله من فضله هو خيرا لهم بل هو شر لهم سيطوقون ما بخلوا به يوم القيامةAnd those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah - give them tidings of a painful punishment.
والذين يكنزون الذهب والفضة ولا ينفقونها في سبيل الله فبشّرهم بعذاب أليمAnd the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as narrated by Muslim from Abu Hurayrah:
If any owner of gold or silver does not pay what is due on him, when the Day of Resurrection would come, plates of fire would be beaten out for him; these would then be heated in the fire of Hell
ما من صاحب ذهب ولا فضة لا يؤدي منها حقها إلا إذا كان يوم القيامة صفّحت له صفائح من نار فأحمي عليها في نار جهنمAnd there are specific pieces of evidence, among them the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As:
That a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with her daughter, and on her daughter's hand were two thick bracelets of gold. He said: Do you pay the zakah on this? She said: No. He said: Would you be pleased if Allah adorned you with them as two bracelets of fire? So she took them off and said: They are for Allah and His Messenger.
أن امرأة جاءت إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ومعها ابنة لها وفي يد ابنتها مسكتان غليظتان من ذهب فقال : أتؤدين زكاة هذا ؟ . قالت : لا، قال : أيسرك أن يسورك الله بهما سوارين من نار ؟ . فخلعتهما وقالت : هما لله ورسولهThen, the matter of zakah is easy, praise be to Allah. How much is obligatory on one hundred riyals? Two and a half riyals. And zakah is not obligatory on gold unless it reaches the nisab, which is eighty-five grams in gold, and five hundred and ninety-five grams in silver. So the matter, praise be to Allah, is easy, and it is very easy for the woman whom Allah has blessed with jewelry to pay its zakah.
But if she does not have cash, and her husband or her father or her brother pays it for her, is that permissible?
The answer: Yes, it is permissible. And if her father or her brother or one of her awliya (guardians) refuses to pay it for her, and she does not have any money from which to pay it, it is obligatory for her to sell an amount of her jewelry equal to the zakah and pay the zakah.
So if she says: If I sell a portion of it every year, it will run out?
The answer: It will not run out, because if it reaches a level that is less than the nisab, zakah is not obligatory on it.