Zakat Calculation: Cash Savings and Wife’s Gold — Sharʿi Guidance
Source: Ahkam wa Masail, Vol. 01, in the light of the Qur’an
❖ Question
Our company grants gratuity upon leaving the job. Last year, my gratuity amounted to Rs. 200,000. I did not leave the job, but I took a loan of Rs. 150,000 against the gratuity, which is still in my possession after a year. The company occasionally deducts installments from my salary against this loan. In addition, my wife possesses 17 tolas of gold, which has also completed a year in her possession. The question is: How much zakat is obligatory upon me?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʿAmma Baʿd!
Since both the amount taken from the company and the wife’s gold have completed one year in ownership, and both are under your possession, zakat must be calculated by combining the value of the gold and the cash savings. The zakat is to be paid at the rate of 2.5% (one-fortieth) of the total wealth.
✿ First, determine the current market value of the gold.
✿ Add Rs. 150,000 cash to this amount.
✿ Calculate 2.5% of the total, and that will be the zakat due.
Although the gold is in your wife’s ownership, in Pakistani society, the entire jewelry and wealth of the wife is often considered as part of the husband’s assets.
✿ However, if the gold is counted as your wife’s separate property, then since it reaches the nisab threshold, she must also pay 2.5% zakat separately on her gold.
هذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
