What is the amount of zakah on gold, and when is it obligatory to pay it?
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The questioner : This questioner from al-Qassim, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, says: “O honorable Shaykh, what is the amount of zakah due on gold, and when is it obligatory to pay it? I ask you, O honorable Shaykh, for a rewarded answer.”
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding the obligation of zakah on a woman’s jewelry that is intended for use. Some said there is no zakah on it, by analogy to clothing, household utensils, and household furnishings, and the like, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih Muslim 982a. Others said that zakah is obligatory on it because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said Sahih Muslim 987a. Also, the three compilers in their Sunan collections reported from Amr ibn Shu’ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and her daughter had two thick bracelets of gold on her hand. He said, . She said, “No.” He said, Sunan Abi Dawud 1563Hasan (Al-Albani). So she took them off and threw them to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), saying, “They are for Allah and His Messenger.” Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *Bulugh al-Maram* that its chain of narration is strong, and Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz said that it is authentic. This hadith and the previous hadith mentioned before it, which Muslim reported in his *Sahih*, both indicate the obligation of zakah on the jewelry a woman adorns herself with. This is the stronger position.
The analogy used by those who do not see the obligation of zakah on it is an analogy in an inappropriate place, because it is an analogy that contradicts an explicit text, and because it is an analogy that is neither consistent nor reciprocal, as becomes clear in a small, concise, but beneficial treatise we wrote, if Allah wills. The stronger position is that zakah is obligatory on jewelry if it is made of gold or silver, whether it is used or not, and whether it is a large amount or a small amount, provided it reaches the nisab. The nisab is eighty-five grams.
As for when the zakah is paid, the zakah is paid when the lunar year has completed. For example, if a woman buys jewelry, or is given jewelry as a gift, or receives it as part of her mahr in the month of Muharram, then it is not obligatory to pay its zakah until the month of Muharram in the second year.
As for the amount of zakah, it is one-quarter of one-tenth, because the zakah on gold, silver, and trade goods is one-quarter of one-tenth for each, meaning one-fortieth or two and a half percent. So if a woman has jewelry worth ten thousand riyals, then two hundred and fifty riyals are due on it every year. There is no harm if her husband, her father, her brother, or her paternal uncle pays her zakah, provided she has given him permission. If she does not have anything from which to pay the zakah on this jewelry, and one of the people mentioned pays it on her behalf, then the objective is achieved. If no one pays it on her behalf, then it is obligatory for her to sell a portion of this jewelry equal to the amount of the zakah. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. This questioner says: “O honorable Shaykh, I ask you to clarify for people the rights of relatives through breastfeeding. Do they have the same rights as relatives through blood ties?”
The Shaykh : Returning to the question.
The questioner : Please go ahead.
The Shaykh : First, we said that if she does not have money and no one pays the zakah on her behalf, then she sells from the jewelry the amount of the zakah. Someone might say, “If she continues to do this for many years, the jewelry will be exhausted.” We answer this by saying: First, what makes this man know that this woman will remain for many years until her money is exhausted? That is one point.
Second, it is not possible for all the money, meaning all the jewelry, to be exhausted, because if it falls below the nisab, meaning below eighty-five grams, there is no zakah on it. Also, we do not know; perhaps Allah the Exalted will replace for her what she spent, as He said, the Exalted:[Saba 34:39]. And zakah does not decrease wealth, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2029Sahih (Darussalam). So if it is decreed that it decreases on one side, Allah sends down blessing on it from another side. Perhaps withholding the zakah on this jewelry could be a cause for it to be lost, damaged, stolen, or the like. And zakah brings blessing to it. Yes. The second question?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding the obligation of zakah on a woman’s jewelry that is intended for use. Some said there is no zakah on it, by analogy to clothing, household utensils, and household furnishings, and the like, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
No Sadaqa is due from a Muslim on his slave or horse.
ليس على المسلم في عبده ولا فرسه صدقةIf 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 يؤدّي منها حقها إلا إذا كان يوم القيامة صفّحت صفائح من نار وأحمي عليها في نار جهنم فيكوى بها جنبه وجبينه وظهره كلما بردت أعيدت في يوم كان مقداره خمسين ألف سنة حتى يُقضى بين العباد ثم يرى سبيله إما إلى الجنة وإما إلى النارDo you pay the zakat of this?
أتؤدين زكاة هذا؟Are you pleased that Allah may put two bangles of fire on your hands?
أيسرّك أن يسورك الله بهما سوارين من نارThe analogy used by those who do not see the obligation of zakah on it is an analogy in an inappropriate place, because it is an analogy that contradicts an explicit text, and because it is an analogy that is neither consistent nor reciprocal, as becomes clear in a small, concise, but beneficial treatise we wrote, if Allah wills. The stronger position is that zakah is obligatory on jewelry if it is made of gold or silver, whether it is used or not, and whether it is a large amount or a small amount, provided it reaches the nisab. The nisab is eighty-five grams.
As for when the zakah is paid, the zakah is paid when the lunar year has completed. For example, if a woman buys jewelry, or is given jewelry as a gift, or receives it as part of her mahr in the month of Muharram, then it is not obligatory to pay its zakah until the month of Muharram in the second year.
As for the amount of zakah, it is one-quarter of one-tenth, because the zakah on gold, silver, and trade goods is one-quarter of one-tenth for each, meaning one-fortieth or two and a half percent. So if a woman has jewelry worth ten thousand riyals, then two hundred and fifty riyals are due on it every year. There is no harm if her husband, her father, her brother, or her paternal uncle pays her zakah, provided she has given him permission. If she does not have anything from which to pay the zakah on this jewelry, and one of the people mentioned pays it on her behalf, then the objective is achieved. If no one pays it on her behalf, then it is obligatory for her to sell a portion of this jewelry equal to the amount of the zakah. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. This questioner says: “O honorable Shaykh, I ask you to clarify for people the rights of relatives through breastfeeding. Do they have the same rights as relatives through blood ties?”
The Shaykh : Returning to the question.
The questioner : Please go ahead.
The Shaykh : First, we said that if she does not have money and no one pays the zakah on her behalf, then she sells from the jewelry the amount of the zakah. Someone might say, “If she continues to do this for many years, the jewelry will be exhausted.” We answer this by saying: First, what makes this man know that this woman will remain for many years until her money is exhausted? That is one point.
Second, it is not possible for all the money, meaning all the jewelry, to be exhausted, because if it falls below the nisab, meaning below eighty-five grams, there is no zakah on it. Also, we do not know; perhaps Allah the Exalted will replace for her what she spent, as He said, the Exalted:
But whatever thing you spend [in His cause] - He will compensate it
وما أنفقتم من شيء فهو يُخلفهCharity does not diminish wealth
ما نقصت صدقة من مالThe questioner : Yes.