What is the correct view regarding the zakah of gold?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah alone, and blessings and peace upon the one after whom there is no prophet.
The Shaykh : O Allah, send blessings and peace upon him.
The questioner : We testify to Allah regarding our love for you, O Shaykh Muhammad.
The Shaykh : May Allah love you for the sake of which you loved us.
The questioner : And some of your sons from the Riyadh region have come to visit you. May Allah preserve you.
The Shaykh : May Allah keep you.
The questioner : The question, may Allah reward you, is about the zakah of gold. May Allah preserve you. What is the correct view?
The Shaykh : Do you mean in jewelry, or in gold in general?
The questioner : In gold.
The Shaykh : In gold in general. There is no dispute that gold in general is subject to zakah by the consensus of the Muslims, such as dinars, raw gold, and pieces of gold. There is no dispute that there is zakah on it in all cases, whether a person intends it for trade or for keeping. The disagreement is regarding permissible jewelry. The scholars differed on this with several views, the strongest of which is that zakah is obligatory in all cases if it reaches the nisab. So if a woman has a bracelet, rings, and earrings that reach the nisab, which is eighty-five grams, she must pay its zakah. Every year, its value is assessed by experts and those knowledgeable about gold, and she pays one-quarter of a tenth. This applies whether this value is more than what she paid for it or less. For example, if she bought this jewelry for ten thousand, and at the end of the lunar year it is worth five thousand, the obligatory amount is the zakah of five thousand. And if she bought it for five thousand and at the end of the lunar year it is worth ten thousand, the obligatory amount is the zakah of ten thousand.
The Shaykh : O Allah, send blessings and peace upon him.
The questioner : We testify to Allah regarding our love for you, O Shaykh Muhammad.
The Shaykh : May Allah love you for the sake of which you loved us.
The questioner : And some of your sons from the Riyadh region have come to visit you. May Allah preserve you.
The Shaykh : May Allah keep you.
The questioner : The question, may Allah reward you, is about the zakah of gold. May Allah preserve you. What is the correct view?
The Shaykh : Do you mean in jewelry, or in gold in general?
The questioner : In gold.
The Shaykh : In gold in general. There is no dispute that gold in general is subject to zakah by the consensus of the Muslims, such as dinars, raw gold, and pieces of gold. There is no dispute that there is zakah on it in all cases, whether a person intends it for trade or for keeping. The disagreement is regarding permissible jewelry. The scholars differed on this with several views, the strongest of which is that zakah is obligatory in all cases if it reaches the nisab. So if a woman has a bracelet, rings, and earrings that reach the nisab, which is eighty-five grams, she must pay its zakah. Every year, its value is assessed by experts and those knowledgeable about gold, and she pays one-quarter of a tenth. This applies whether this value is more than what she paid for it or less. For example, if she bought this jewelry for ten thousand, and at the end of the lunar year it is worth five thousand, the obligatory amount is the zakah of five thousand. And if she bought it for five thousand and at the end of the lunar year it is worth ten thousand, the obligatory amount is the zakah of ten thousand.