She also says: I have a quantity of gold that I bought for the purpose of adornment, to protect my wealth from being spent.
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The questioner : She also says: I have a quantity of gold that I bought for the purpose of adornment, to protect my wealth from being spent. This gold reaches the nisab and a lunar year has passed over it, and I intend to pay its zakah, if Allah wills. However, one month before the completion of the lunar year, I was blessed with an amount from my father’s inheritance (may Allah have mercy on him). So, do I pay zakah on the gold only when the lunar year is completed, or do I pay zakah on the gold in addition to the money as well?
The Shaykh : She must pay zakah on the gold when its lunar year is completed, whether she receives other money or not.
This is because the stronger opinion among the scholars is that jewelry is subject to obligatory zakah, even if it is prepared only for use. There is zakah in it due to the generality of the evidence, and no specific text has come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) excluding it. That is, it has not been reported from him that there is no zakah in jewelry. And analogizing it to clothing and the like, which a person needs, is a defective analogy.
First, because it is an analogy in opposition to an explicit text. The texts have come specifically regarding jewelry that it is subject to zakah, as in the hadith of 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb from his father from his grandfather: that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and on her daughter’s hand were two thick bracelets of gold. He said: She said: No. He said: Sunan Abi Dawud 1563Hasan (Al-Albani) meaning if she does not pay its zakah. So she took them off and threw them to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: They are for Allah and His Messenger.
This is an explicit text regarding the jewelry itself, and it cannot be invalidated by a defective analogy.
And the analogy to clothing is defective from another angle, which is that the original ruling for clothing is that there is no zakah until it is prepared for trade. As for gold, the original ruling is that it is subject to zakah, and there is no evidence excluding any type or any use from this generality. So whoever wants to clear his conscience, let him pay the zakah on the gold when it reaches the nisab.
The Shaykh : She must pay zakah on the gold when its lunar year is completed, whether she receives other money or not.
This is because the stronger opinion among the scholars is that jewelry is subject to obligatory zakah, even if it is prepared only for use. There is zakah in it due to the generality of the evidence, and no specific text has come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) excluding it. That is, it has not been reported from him that there is no zakah in jewelry. And analogizing it to clothing and the like, which a person needs, is a defective analogy.
First, because it is an analogy in opposition to an explicit text. The texts have come specifically regarding jewelry that it is subject to zakah, as in the hadith of 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb from his father from his grandfather: that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and on her daughter’s hand were two thick bracelets of gold. He said:
Will you pay the zakah on this?
أتؤدين زكاة هذا ؟Are you pleased that Allah may put two bangles of fire on your hands?
أيسرك أن يسورك الله بهما سوارين من نار ؟This is an explicit text regarding the jewelry itself, and it cannot be invalidated by a defective analogy.
And the analogy to clothing is defective from another angle, which is that the original ruling for clothing is that there is no zakah until it is prepared for trade. As for gold, the original ruling is that it is subject to zakah, and there is no evidence excluding any type or any use from this generality. So whoever wants to clear his conscience, let him pay the zakah on the gold when it reaches the nisab.