The Obligation of Zakah on Jewelry Owned by a Person
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A somewhat lengthy letter arrived at the program from one of the listening brothers, containing four questions, all of which revolve around the zakah of gold. I ask the Shaykh’s permission to read the letter in full, along with its questions.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The presenter : He says: A married man has a daughter. His wife owns gold jewelry, some of which was in her possession before the marriage, whether from her father or as a gift from the man during the engagement period, and some of which he bought for her as a gift after the marriage. He also bought some gold jewelry for his daughter. The question now is: How is the zakah paid on this jewelry? Is the amount owned by the wife and the daughter combined to calculate the nisab, or is each calculated separately? If the nisab is calculated for the wife and the daughter individually, who pays the zakah on the wife’s jewelry: the husband, or does she pay it from her own gold? Knowing that she has no money. Then she asks: What is the value of the nisab? And on which standard of gold is it calculated? Knowing that the existing gold is of different standards. Is the zakah paid on all the gold, or only on what exceeds the nisab? And if the man buys gold for his wife not as a gift, but to preserve wealth on the basis of selling it when needed, is it added to her wealth, or does it remain with his wealth? If it is from his wealth, is its value added to his cash assets when calculating the nisab? And if this man has male children, is his buying gold for his daughter without them considered injustice toward them? Is he required to buy an equivalent amount for them? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
As for the first point, the zakah is on the wife’s gold alone, and on the daughter’s gold alone, if it reaches the nisab. Each has their own zakah. So the wife has the zakah of her gold, and there is no difference between it being eighteen karat, twenty karat, or more than that. All of it is subject to zakah according to its market value, its value in the market. So she must pay zakah on her gold if it reaches the nisab, and the daughter has the zakah of her gold if it reaches the nisab.
The nisab is twenty mithqals, and its amount in Saudi riyals is eleven and a half riyals, eleven riyals and three-sevenths of a riyal, meaning the half, because the fraction is slight. Eleven and a half riyals is the nisab, which is twenty mithqals, which is ninety-one grams and fractions, meaning: ninety-two grams as a precaution, ninety-two grams.
So if the gold that the woman has reaches this amount, eleven and a half riyals, ninety-two grams, she must pay its zakah from her money. If she has no money, she sells some of this gold and pays the zakah, or she borrows, or her husband pays the zakah on her behalf if he permits, if Allah guides him and he pays it on her behalf with her permission, there is no harm. Or her father, or her brother, with her permission, there is no harm. Otherwise, the zakah remains a debt in her liability until she pays it by selling some of her wealth so that she can pay the zakah.
As for if the gold is less than the nisab, less than eleven and a half riyals, there is no zakah on her. And so for the daughter; it is weighed, and if it reaches the nisab, eleven and a half riyals, it is subject to zakah. Her zakah is on her from her money; she sells some of this gold and pays the zakah, unless her husband, or her brother, or someone else pays it on her behalf, there is no harm.
The father is not allowed to favor the daughters with gold and gifts over the sons. Rather, if he gives the daughters something, he gives the sons, and does not favor them with anything. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 2587 And he is only obligated to provide maintenance. He spends on the daughter as long as she is under his care, and as long as she is with him, and she has no money to spend on her. If Allah enriches her, she no longer has a claim on him for maintenance. And so for the son, he spends on him as long as he is poor, and if Allah enriches him, he has no claim on him for maintenance. Maintenance differs; the maintenance of a young child is not the maintenance of an older one, the maintenance of a small child is not the maintenance of a large one.
Maintenance is obligatory on the father as long as the children are poor. If Allah enriches them, if Allah enriches the daughter through marriage, or through other wealth, she has no claim on him for maintenance. And so for the son, if Allah enriches him through a job, or through trade, he has no claim on his father for maintenance.
And gold, as mentioned earlier, is subject to zakah absolutely, regardless of its standard, from poor gold to good gold. One looks at the market to see what it is worth, and pays its zakah. In a thousand, twenty-five. And if the gold reaches forty riyals, its zakah is one riyal, a quarter of a tenth. If it is less or more, there is no objection to paying it in paper currency. It is not necessary to pay it from gold. If he pays the value in paper currency, there is no harm in that, and no blame. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.
A somewhat lengthy letter arrived at the program from one of the listening brothers, containing four questions, all of which revolve around the zakah of gold. I ask the Shaykh’s permission to read the letter in full, along with its questions.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The presenter : He says: A married man has a daughter. His wife owns gold jewelry, some of which was in her possession before the marriage, whether from her father or as a gift from the man during the engagement period, and some of which he bought for her as a gift after the marriage. He also bought some gold jewelry for his daughter. The question now is: How is the zakah paid on this jewelry? Is the amount owned by the wife and the daughter combined to calculate the nisab, or is each calculated separately? If the nisab is calculated for the wife and the daughter individually, who pays the zakah on the wife’s jewelry: the husband, or does she pay it from her own gold? Knowing that she has no money. Then she asks: What is the value of the nisab? And on which standard of gold is it calculated? Knowing that the existing gold is of different standards. Is the zakah paid on all the gold, or only on what exceeds the nisab? And if the man buys gold for his wife not as a gift, but to preserve wealth on the basis of selling it when needed, is it added to her wealth, or does it remain with his wealth? If it is from his wealth, is its value added to his cash assets when calculating the nisab? And if this man has male children, is his buying gold for his daughter without them considered injustice toward them? Is he required to buy an equivalent amount for them? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
As for the first point, the zakah is on the wife’s gold alone, and on the daughter’s gold alone, if it reaches the nisab. Each has their own zakah. So the wife has the zakah of her gold, and there is no difference between it being eighteen karat, twenty karat, or more than that. All of it is subject to zakah according to its market value, its value in the market. So she must pay zakah on her gold if it reaches the nisab, and the daughter has the zakah of her gold if it reaches the nisab.
The nisab is twenty mithqals, and its amount in Saudi riyals is eleven and a half riyals, eleven riyals and three-sevenths of a riyal, meaning the half, because the fraction is slight. Eleven and a half riyals is the nisab, which is twenty mithqals, which is ninety-one grams and fractions, meaning: ninety-two grams as a precaution, ninety-two grams.
So if the gold that the woman has reaches this amount, eleven and a half riyals, ninety-two grams, she must pay its zakah from her money. If she has no money, she sells some of this gold and pays the zakah, or she borrows, or her husband pays the zakah on her behalf if he permits, if Allah guides him and he pays it on her behalf with her permission, there is no harm. Or her father, or her brother, with her permission, there is no harm. Otherwise, the zakah remains a debt in her liability until she pays it by selling some of her wealth so that she can pay the zakah.
As for if the gold is less than the nisab, less than eleven and a half riyals, there is no zakah on her. And so for the daughter; it is weighed, and if it reaches the nisab, eleven and a half riyals, it is subject to zakah. Her zakah is on her from her money; she sells some of this gold and pays the zakah, unless her husband, or her brother, or someone else pays it on her behalf, there is no harm.
The father is not allowed to favor the daughters with gold and gifts over the sons. Rather, if he gives the daughters something, he gives the sons, and does not favor them with anything. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Be afraid of Allah, and be just to your children.
اتقوا الله، واعدلوا بين أولادكمMaintenance is obligatory on the father as long as the children are poor. If Allah enriches them, if Allah enriches the daughter through marriage, or through other wealth, she has no claim on him for maintenance. And so for the son, if Allah enriches him through a job, or through trade, he has no claim on his father for maintenance.
And gold, as mentioned earlier, is subject to zakah absolutely, regardless of its standard, from poor gold to good gold. One looks at the market to see what it is worth, and pays its zakah. In a thousand, twenty-five. And if the gold reaches forty riyals, its zakah is one riyal, a quarter of a tenth. If it is less or more, there is no objection to paying it in paper currency. It is not necessary to pay it from gold. If he pays the value in paper currency, there is no harm in that, and no blame. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.