Is there zakah on used gold?
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The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : Is used gold subject to zakah or not?
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : Used gold
The Shaykh : Yes, used gold, or that which is used and lent out, or that which remains unused except on special occasions, all of it is subject to zakah according to the stronger and correct opinion. Some scholars say that used gold is not subject to zakah, but the correct view is that it is subject to zakah if it reaches the nisab, which is eighty-five grams. Anything less than that is not subject to zakah.
The evidence for the obligation of zakah is what Muslim narrated in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 987a.
And we ask now the woman who has jewelry: is she a possessor of gold or not? We all say that she is a possessor of gold. And what indicates the generality of this is what 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated: that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and on her daughter's hand were two thick bracelets of gold, meaning two thick bracelets. He said to her:. She said, "No." He said: Sunan Abi Dawud 1563Hasan (Al-Albani). So she took them off and gave them to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), saying, "They are for Allah and His Messenger."
And this is a warning, and there is no warning except for the abandonment of an obligation. And likewise, one of the Mothers of the Believers asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the jewelry she had: is it a treasure? He said, "If it reaches the amount for which its zakah is due, and then its zakah is paid, it is not a treasure." Yes.
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : Someone might ask: what is the amount of zakah? We have now established that jewelry of gold, if it reaches the nisab, is subject to zakah. So what is its amount? We say its amount is a quarter of a tenth, meaning two and a half percent, or in a thousand.
The questioner : Twenty-five.
The Shaykh : Twenty-five, and in ten thousand, two hundred and fifty, and in one hundred thousand, two thousand and five hundred. A small portion, and praise be to Allah. Perhaps this is part of its blessing, and it is undoubtedly part of its blessing.
Because zakah carries a great reward:[Al-Baqarah 2:261]. And in it is also a blessing for the wealth, for zakah has never mixed with wealth except that it destroyed it [i.e., the wealth that is not purified]. Perhaps this jewelry will be blessed and protected from calamities due to the extraction of its zakah. This is in addition to the reward that a person acquires. If you were to give the zakah of your jewelry now, which is twenty-five in a thousand, do you think that these twenty-five are a burden and a loss? No, it is a profit. Twenty-five riyals on the Day of Resurrection: the riyal becomes seven riyals, and with each riyal comes one hundred riyals, making seven hundred. You will obtain on the Day of Resurrection the reward of seven hundred riyals, whereas you have the reward of seven hundred riyals for every riyal. Meanwhile, in this world, if you save twenty-five in a thousand, perhaps your failure to pay it will be the cause of this jewelry being lost, or destroyed, or broken, or stolen, or someone borrowing it and then denying it, or something similar.
So what I love for my Muslim brothers is that they do not think that charities or zakahs are wasted. They are good. There is nothing of your wealth except what you spent for Allah, and the rest will be for others. Yes.
The Shaykh : And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : Is used gold subject to zakah or not?
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : Used gold
The Shaykh : Yes, used gold, or that which is used and lent out, or that which remains unused except on special occasions, all of it is subject to zakah according to the stronger and correct opinion. Some scholars say that used gold is not subject to zakah, but the correct view is that it is subject to zakah if it reaches the nisab, which is eighty-five grams. Anything less than that is not subject to zakah.
The evidence for the obligation of zakah is what Muslim narrated in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
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 and his sides, his forehead and his back would be cauterized with them. Whenever these cool down, (the process is) repeated during a day the extent of which would be fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among servants, and he sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell.
ما من صاحب ذهب ولا فضة لا يؤدي منها حقها إلا إذا كان يوم القيامة صفحت له صفائح من نار وأحمي عليها في نار جهنم فيكوى بها جنبه وجبينه وظهره كلما بردت أعيدت في يوم كان مقداره خمسين ألف سنة حتى يقضى بين العباد ثم يرى سبيله إما إلى الجنة وإما إلى النارAnd we ask now the woman who has jewelry: is she a possessor of gold or not? We all say that she is a possessor of gold. And what indicates the generality of this is what 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated: that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and on her daughter's hand were two thick bracelets of gold, meaning two thick bracelets. He said to her:
Do you pay the zakah of that?
أتؤدين زكاة ذلكAre you pleased that Allah may put two bangles of fire on your hands?
أيسرك أن يسورك الله بهما سوارين من نارAnd this is a warning, and there is no warning except for the abandonment of an obligation. And likewise, one of the Mothers of the Believers asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the jewelry she had: is it a treasure? He said, "If it reaches the amount for which its zakah is due, and then its zakah is paid, it is not a treasure." Yes.
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : Someone might ask: what is the amount of zakah? We have now established that jewelry of gold, if it reaches the nisab, is subject to zakah. So what is its amount? We say its amount is a quarter of a tenth, meaning two and a half percent, or in a thousand.
The questioner : Twenty-five.
The Shaykh : Twenty-five, and in ten thousand, two hundred and fifty, and in one hundred thousand, two thousand and five hundred. A small portion, and praise be to Allah. Perhaps this is part of its blessing, and it is undoubtedly part of its blessing.
Because zakah carries a great reward:
The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains
مثل الذين ينفقون أموالهم في سبيل الله كمثل حبة أنبتت سبع سنابل في كل سنبلة مئة حبةSo what I love for my Muslim brothers is that they do not think that charities or zakahs are wasted. They are good. There is nothing of your wealth except what you spent for Allah, and the rest will be for others. Yes.