Zakat must be paid on gold and silver. An amount of 2.5 percent is required to be paid but there are some conditions that should be met like; ownership of the threshold, full ownership and the turn of a year.
Zakat on gold and silver
Zakat is payable on gold and silver, which were the standard currencies for long periods of history,
:as Allah says
‘To those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend them in Allah’s cause, give the news of a painful suffering.’
(9:34)
Needless to say, such warnings are given only in the case of neglecting a duty. As we noted, the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: ‘Anyone who owns gold or silver but does not pay out their dues shall come on the Day of Judgement when plates of fire shall be made ready for him, and they will be heated in hell then his forehead, side and back shall be branded with them. When they cool down, they will be reheated. That day is as long as 50 thousand years, until Allah has judged between His servants.’ Furthermore, scholars are unanimous that if one owns 200 dirhams (i.e. the silver currency), he pays five dirhams annually in zakat, and if one owns 20 weights or dinars (i.e. gold currency), then zakat is payable on that gold.
What is due on gold and silver
The zakat payable on gold and silver is 2.5 %, which means that for 20 dinars (a dinar was the gold currency) half a dinar is payable. For any little or great amount above that the same rate of 2.5 % applies. Likewise, for 200 dirhams of silver five dirhams are payable, and for any greater amount the same rate applies.
:The Prophet (peace be upon him) says
‘On silver the payable zakat is a quarter of one tenth.’
Related by al-Bukhari, hadith No. 1,454.
Conditions for the zakat obligation to apply
For zakat to be payable on gold and silver, the following conditions must apply:
1-Ownership of the threshold of zakat, which is 20 weights or dinars of gold.
:The hadith reported by ' Ali quotes the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying
‘In the case of gold, you have nothing to pay until you own 20 dinars. If you have 20 dinars and you have had it for a year, the duty is to pay half a dinar.’
Related by Abu Dawud, hadith No. 1,573
and this threshold is estimated to be equivalent to 85 grams. The threshold for silver is 200 dirhams,
:as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said
‘No zakat is due on any amount less than five ounces.’
Related by Abu Dawud, Book 9, hadith No. 3
and the ounce is equal to 40 dirhams. Thus the threshold is equivalent to 200 dirhams., which is equivalent now to 595 grams of silver.
:The Prophet (peace be upon him) says
‘On silver the payable zakat is a quarter of one tenth. If one has only 199 dirhams, then no duty is payable.’
2- The passing of one lunar year with the gold or silver in possession of a Muslim. If a person has the threshold of gold or silver for less than one year, there is no zakat on it.
Combining gold and silver
The weightier view is that gold and silver are not counted together in calculating the threshold of zakat because they are two different kinds of precious metals. Therefore, they are treated like different kinds of other possessions, such as in the case of camels and cows, or barley and wheat. [1]
references
- Al-Nadawi, Al-Fiqh al-Muyassar, p. 128.