Office of the Mufti

Zakat On Gold Jewellery

FATWA ISSUED

BY

FATWA COMMITTEE, MAJLIS UGAMA ISLAM SINGAPURA

The Fatwa Committee has revised the fatwa regarding the payment of Zakat on gold jewellery on its seventh meeting dated 9 June 2011.

FATWA

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله رب العالمين ، والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وإمام المتقين نبينا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين.  اللهم أرنا الحق حقا وارزقنا اتباعه، وأرنا الباطل باطلا وارزقنا اجتنابه . وبعد ،

MUIS Fatwa Committee has received a question from the Zakat and Wakaf  Strategic Unit of Muis, regarding the fatwa text that was issued by Muis Fatwa Committee in 1995 regarding zakat on gold jewellery. The Zakat and Waqaf  Unit also enquired on the accuracy of  20 mithqal stated in the above-mentioned fatwa text.  

After a careful study of this issue, the Fatwa Committee concurred with the fatwa of 1995 that the payment of zakat on gold jewellery is originally not obligatory (wajib) as it is religiously permissible for women to wear gold jewellery. Therefore gold jewellery is originally not subject to zakat payment. This is based on several hadith of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w:

1لَيْسَ فِي الحُلِّي زَكَاة. 

Which means: “There is no zakat in jewellery.”

Similarly, in another hadith narrated by Imam Malik in Al-Muwatta’:

أخبرنا مالك عن عبد الرحمن بن قاسم عن أبيه : أَنَّ عَائِشَةَ كَانَتْ تَلِي بَنَات أَخِيْهَا  يَتَامَى فِي حِجْرِهَا لَهُنَّ حُلِّي  فَلاَ تَخْرُج مِنْ حُلِيِّهِنَّ الزَّكَاة

Which means : Aisyah r.a had put on gold jewellery on her orphaned nieces, and she never paid zakat for these gold jewelleries.

Nevertheless, the Fatwa Committe is of the opinion that gold jewellery can be subject to zakat payment under two conditions:

  • When the amount of gold jewellery is above the urf2.
  • When gold jewellery is purchased with the intention of keeping it for investment.

Excessive wearing of jewellery

The wearing and using of any permitted items in Shariah is guided by two main principles. Firstly, it must not lead to any extravagant usage, and secondly, it must not lead to feelings of pride and superiority. The Prophet s.a.w mentioned:

3عن النبي (ص) : كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَالبَسُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ سَرف وَلاَ مَخِيلَة

Which means: Eat, drink and wear anything without being extravagant and arrogant.

Henceforth, some scholars opined that gold used as jewellery are originally not subject to zakat, but it may be subject to zakat when the amount under one’s possessionexceeds the normative amount in the society (uruf).4  This is as explained in the following hadith:

5وعَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ أَنَّ امْرَأَةً أَتَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَمَعَهَا ابْنَةٌ لَهَا ، وَفِي يَدِ ابْنَتِهَا مَسَكَتَانِ (إسورتان) غَلِيظَتَانِ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ ، فَقَالَ لَهَا : أَتُعْطِينَ زَكَاةَ هَذَا ؟ قَالَتْ : لا . قَالَ: أَيَسُرُّكِ أَنْ يُسَوِّرَكِ اللَّهُ بِهِمَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ سِوَارَيْنِ مِنْ نَارٍ ؟ 

Which means: From Amr bin Shuaib from his father from his grandfather, he said: A woman met the Prophet with his daughter with two thick gold6 bangles on the daughter’s hands. The Prophet s.a.w. said to her: Do you give alms (zakat)for this jewellery? The woman answered: No. So the Prophet said: Do you wish for God to put aflame these two bangles on the Day of Judgement?

Definition of normative amount (‘urf) on gold jewellery

Fatwa Committee views that the allocation of 20 mithqal in the fatwa text 1995 is inaccurate and must be replaced with 200 mithqal.

Fatwa Committee also agrees that the ‘urf amount remains at 200 dinar, 200 mithqal and 860 gram.

This is based on the opinion of Imam al-Nawawi in his book

قال أصحابنا : كل حلي أبيح للنساء فإنما يباح إذا لم يكن فيه سرف ظاهر ، فإن كان كخلخال وزنه مائتا دينار، فالصحيح الذي قطع به معظم العراقيين تحريمه

Which means: Some of the Shafi’e scholars said: All kinds of gold is allowed for women. It is permissible for them as long as there is no excessive and extravagant  usage. If the gold jewellery is  bangle-shaped with a weight of 200 dinars, the correct opinion concluded by many of the Shafi’ejurists in Iraq is that, it is not permissible for this kind of gold jewellery to be worn.7

The Fatwa Committee views that zakat becomes obligatory on jewellery only when a piece of jewellery reaches 860 gram.

Fatwa Committee also believes that when the amount of gold has reached the ‘urf amount, the payment of zakat must be calculated based on the total weight of the gold jewellery, and not only from the weight which exceeds the ‘urf amount.

Gold jewellery that are kept for the purpose of investment

The Fatwa Committee has studied opinions of the fuqaha’ on this issue. In Al-Majmu’, Imam An-Nawawi explained:

8قال أصحابنا ولو اتخذ حليا ولم يقصد به استعمالا محرما ولا مكروها ولا مباحا بل قصد كنزه واقتناءه فالمذهب الصحيح المشهور الذى قطع به المصنف والجمهور وجوب الزكاة فيه

Which means : Our companions (Shafi’iescholars) are of the opinion that if an individual owns gold jewellery and he (or she) has no intention of using it for jewellery purposes, be it for prohibited (haram) usage, for non-recommended (makruh) usage or for permissible (halal)purposes, instead the intention is purely to own and keep the gold, therefore, the correct (sahih) opinion that waselucidated by the author9 and the majority (junhur) view is that it is obligatory for zakat to be paid on this.

In this regard, the Fatwa Committee has concluded that gold jewellery that is kept for the purpose of investment must be subject to zakat if it has reached the nisab rate of 86 grams, and the zakat must be calculated based on the total weight of the gold jewellery.

الله أعلم ، وبالله التوفيق ، وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم

DR MOHAMED FATRIS BAKARAM

MUFTI, REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

CHAIRMAN

FATWA COMMITEE

MAJLIS UGAMA ISLAM SINGAPURA


1 Hadith reported by IbnJauzi in al-Tahqiq..See al-Hadi, Tanqih al-Tahqiq fi Ahadith al-Ta’liq, Beirut, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, 1st print, 1998, Vol. 2, pg136.

2 Normative amount or customary limit.

3 Imam Al-Bukhari mentioned this hadis in the chapter :Allah s.w.t said in the Quran -( قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِى أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِ ).

4 Al-Qardhawi, Yusuf, Fiqh al-Zakah, Beirut, Mua’sasah Ar-Risalah, 6th Print, 1981-1401H,.pg  308 & 309.

5 Abu Dawud, Sunan Abu Dawud, Beirut, Dar IbnHazm, 1st print, 2005/1426H, Hadith no. 1563, pg 743. An-Nasai, Sunan an-Nasai, Riyahd, Bait Al-Afkar for Publishing & Distribution, pg. 268, hadith no. 2479.

6 The word that the narrator used to describe the type of banglein the hadisis : (غليظتان), which means: thick. Thus the gold bangle that was mentioned in the hadisrefers to a thick bangle,which was beyond the normal size of bangles people normally used.

7 An-Nawawi, Al-Majmu’ SharhulMuhazzab,Jeddah, Maktabah Al-Irshad,vol. 5, pg. 523.

8 An-Nawawi, Al-Majmu’ SharhulMuhazzab,Op. Cit.,vol. 5, pg. 520.

9 This refers to the author of Al-Muhazzab, Imam al-Shirazi.