Zakah on gold and silver

Fatwa no. 20994 Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings of Allah be upon the last of the Prophets!The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has scrutinsed what was (Part No. 8; Page No. 151) submitted to the Grand Mufty (Islamic scholar qualified to issue legal opinions) by His Excellency the assigned Director of the Center of Da`wah (calling to Islam) and Guidance of Jeddah Province which was referred to the committee from the Secretariat General of the Council of Senior Scholars with the No. Of 430/9/20G dated on 4/6/1420 A.H. Following are the questions he asked:We were approached by some of the Du`ah (callers to Islam) brothers who work in the communities' advice bureaus in the governorate of Jeddah Province where they mentioned that one of the most disputable Fatwas (legal opinions) that causes serious controversy and severe difference of opinions among Du`ahs, especially the Du`ahs in the Indian Peninsula, is that Zakah (obligatory charity) on gold and silver is to be paid once in a life time, and that there are no valid legal proofs that obligate its payment every year. The proponents of this view argued that Shar`y (Islamic legal) evidence supports giving out Zakah and warns against any negligence in that aspect. However, there is no direct order to pay it every passing Hawl (one lunar year calculated from the time a property reaches the minimum amount upon which Zakah is due). This issue has caused huge dispute among a magnitude of people who are in need of a written decisive Fatwa from Your Eminence as a reference in order to put an end to the dispute between them In sha`a Allah (if Allah wills). Thus, we hope that Your Eminence may look into the matter and issue a Fatwa that expresses the most correct ruling established by the Shari`ah.

After having thoroughly scrutinized the presented case, the committee issued the following Fatwa: Zakah is payable on gold and silver if they reach the Nisab (minimum amount upon which Zakah is due) at the passing of every Hawl while they are in the possession of their owner. Allah (Part No. 8; Page No. 152) the Almighty says: And those who hoard up gold and silver [Al-Kanz: the money, the Zakât of which has not been paid] and spend them not in the Way of Allâh, announce unto them a painful torment. Also it is reported in the Sahih (Authentic collection of Hadith) of Imam Muslim that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: No owner of a treasure who does not pay its due Zakah (obligatory charity) (would be spared) but it (his hoards) would be heated in Hellfire and would be made into plates and with it, his sides and forehead would be cauterized until Allah pronounces judgment among His Servants during a day the extent of which would be fifty thousand years. He would then see his path, leading either to Jannah (Paradise) or to the Hellfire. Scholars have unanimously agreed that the word "Al Kanz" (hoard) mentioned in Holy Qur'an and Sunnah (whatever is reported from the Prophet Muhammad) means any wealth the due Zakah on which has not been paid.Also, it is reported on the authority of `Aly ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: When you possess two hundred dirhams and one year passes on them, five dirhams are payable on them. Nothing is incumbent on you, that is, on your wealth of gold, until it reaches twenty dinars. When you possess twenty dinars (of gold) and one year has passed on them, half a dinar is payable. (Recorded by Abu Dawud) As for saying that Zakah for gold and silver is to be paid once in a life time, there is no proof in Allah's purified Shar` (law) in its favor; on the contrary, there is clear evidence that paying Zakah was repeated with the start of every Hawl. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to send his agents who were in charge of collecting Zakah to collect it from people every year, (Part No. 8; Page No. 153) and his Caliphs followed his example. Explaining the method the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had adopted in collecting Zakah and the wisdom of having to pay it every year, Ibn Al Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: (The diligent method he had adopted in handling Zakah is the most perfect in aspects of its timing, amount, threshold (Nisab), who is obliged to pay it, and its expenditures. He considered in Zakah the best interest of both the possessors of the wealth and the needy. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) rendered Zakah a means of purifying the wealth as well as the soul of the payer and He related between the sustainability of His Blessings on the rich to their payment of Zakah due on their wealth; for Zakah preserves and increases the wealth and wards off any hazard that may occur to it. He also made Zakah due on four categories of wealth, which people need most and are most common in their dealings: The first kind is: crops and fruits. The second: Livestock animals: Camels, cows and sheep. The third: The two metals which are the basis of people's transactions: Gold and silver. The fourth: Different kinds of merchandise.The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) obligated paying Zakah for such kinds of possessions every year, and he considered the Hawl for crops and fruits at the time of its full ripeness. There could be no fairer method in that aspect, as imposing it every month or every week harms wealth owners while imposing it once in a life time harms the poor. That is why it was best to prescribe Zakah once every year.) (Part No. 8; Page No. 154) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and his Companions!