❖ Zakat on Gold and Silver Jewelry: Evidence and Scholarly Opinions ❖
✍ Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
✿ Introduction
Although there is significant scholarly disagreement on the issue of Zakat on gold and silver jewelry, the dominant and preferred view is that Zakat is obligatory on such jewelry. The evidence supporting this view is presented below.
❖ Evidences Supporting Zakat on Jewelry
➊ General Verses and Ahadith on Gold and Silver
All verses and Hadiths that command Zakat on gold and silver are general in nature and include jewelry as well. One such verse is:
وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ…
(Al-Tawbah: 34)
“Those who hoard gold and silver…”
And in a Hadith:
“مَا مِنْ صَاحِبِ ذَهَبٍ وَلَا فِضَّةٍ لَا يُؤَدِّي زَكَاتَهَا…”
[Muslim: 978; Abū Dāwūd: 1658; Aḥmad: 2/162; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 6858; Ibn Khuzaymah: 2252; Ibn Ḥibbān: 3253; Bayhaqī: 4/18]
Translation: “Whoever owns gold or silver and does not pay its Zakat…”
These references implicitly include jewelry unless excluded by a specific exemption, which does not exist in this case.
➋ Hadith of a Woman with Gold Bangles
Narrated by ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb from his father from his grandfather:
A woman came to the Prophet ﷺ with her daughter who had two gold bangles on her hands. The Prophet ﷺ asked:
“Do you pay Zakat on these?”
She replied, “No.” The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Would you like that Allah make you wear two bangles of fire on the Day of Judgment?”
Hearing this, she threw the bangles away.
Sources: [Abū Dāwūd: 1382; Tirmidhī: 637; Nasā’ī: 5/38; Bayhaqī: 4/140]
Graded Ḥasan by: Shaykh Ṣubḥī Ḥallāq and Shaykh Ḥāzim ʿAlī Qāḍī.
➌ Hadith of Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها
She wore gold jewelry and asked the Prophet ﷺ:
“O Messenger of Allah, is this hoarded treasure (kanz)?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“If you pay its Zakat, then it is not hoarded treasure.”
Sources: [Abū Dāwūd: 1383; Dāraqutnī: 2/105; Ḥākim: 1/390; Bayhaqī: 4/140]
Graded Ḥasan.
➍ Hadith of ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها
She wore silver rings, and the Prophet ﷺ asked:
“Do you give Zakat for them?”
When she said no, the Prophet ﷺ responded:
“Then they are sufficient for you from the fire of Hell.”
Source: [Abū Dāwūd: 1384]
Graded Ṣaḥīḥ.
❖ Scholarly Endorsements for Zakat on Jewelry
These evidences collectively indicate that Zakat is obligatory on gold and silver jewelry. The following scholars and schools of thought support this view:
✔ Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله – Zakat is obligatory on jewelry.
[Al-Muḥallā bi al-Āthār: 4/184]
✔ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله – This opinion is correct.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 3/327]
✔ Imām al-Ṣanʿānī رحمه الله – Zakat is wajib on jewelry.
[Subul al-Salām: 2/820]
✔ Ḥanafī School – Upholds this view.
[Tabyīn al-Ḥaqā’iq by al-Zaylaʿī: 1/276–277]
✔ Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله – Zakat is obligatory on jewelry.
[ʿUmdat al-Qārī: 7/286]
✔ Shaykh Ibn Bāz رحمه الله – Zakat must be paid on gold and silver jewelry.
[Fatāwā al-Islāmiyyah: 2/53]
❖ Summary of Four Juristic Opinions (per Imām al-Ṣanʿānī)
Imām al-Ṣanʿānī outlines four opinions among jurists regarding jewelry Zakat:
① Zakat is obligatory on gold and silver jewelry.
② Zakat is not obligatory (opinion of Imām Mālik, Imām Aḥmad, and one narration from Imām al-Shāfiʿī).
③ Zakat is paid only if jewelry is loaned to others; otherwise, not required.
④ Only one-time Zakat is obligatory on jewelry.
Reference: [Subul al-Salām: 2/819–820]
Further references include:
mabsūṭ: 2/192, hidāyah: 1/104, lubāb: 1/384, rawḍ al-naḍīr: 2/604, qawānīn al-aḥkām al-sharʿiyyah: p. 118, majmūʿ: 6/32, mughni: 2/603, maʿrifah by Bayhaqī: 6/140, Sunan al-Kubrā by Bayhaqī: 6/140
❖ Objection by Those Who Deny Zakat on Jewelry
One of the counter-arguments is the report that ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها did not take Zakat from her brother’s orphaned daughters’ jewelry.
Reference: [Muwaṭṭa’: 1/250, Book of Zakat: Chapter on Jewelry without Zakat]
Similarly, Shawkānī رحمه الله also held that Zakat is not due on gold and silver jewelry.
Source: [Al-Sayl al-Jarrār: 2/19–21]
