Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamoaalikum warahmatullahi wbrakatuhu,

May Allah bless you all and give you ajr for your help and efforts.Brother i have a question for about ten years my father has not been giving Zakat of Jewllery.My mother has been buying and selling some of the jewllery during these ten years so i dont know what exactly zakat was for each year`s.Now we fear Allah and wanted to give Zakat as soon as we can.Please guide us what should we do bcoz my father does`t give still me and my mother are very worried about this as we are helpless and cannot go on our own to weigh gold and give its zakat.we live in kuwait here`s the prob is of language too. Please tell us what to do.

Jazakumullahu khairan

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Answer:

Past Zakah

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The ‘mehr’ the woman receives as her right during her marriage, or any property she inherits from her deceased relatives, or any income she derives from her investments, or any gift she receives from her husband or relatives or friends, be it in the form of property, or cash, or jewelry, etc. will all be considered the private wealth of the woman; and it is the woman who will be responsible and liable to pay the annual zakah dues on her wealth. The husband will neither be responsible nor liable to pay the annual zakah dues on the wealth that belongs to his wife.

The primary responsibility on paying the zakah dues is always on the person who owns the wealth. Although the husband is not in legal terms responsible or liable to pay the zakah on the wealth or property that belongs to the wife, if out of generosity and good will the husband takes upon himself to fulfill the zakah dues on the wealth of his wife, there is absolutely no harm and perfectly permissible in Islam.

If for any reason whatsoever the husband does not wish to pay the zakah on the property that belongs to his wife, then it would remain the wife’s responsibility to fulfill and pay the zakah on the property and wealth that belongs to her.

If the total value of the wealth that belongs to the woman is above the prescribed ‘nisaab’ in Islam (approximately US$1,000.00), she will be liable and responsible to pay the zakah on her excess wealth. If the woman does not have any earnings, she would have to sell part of her wealth and fulfill the zakah dues.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1809 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As

Abdullah told of two women, wearing gold bangles on their wrists, coming to Allah's Messenger (saws), who asked them whether they paid zakat on them. On their replying that they did not, he (saws) asked them whether they wanted Allah to put two bangles of fire on them, and when they replied that they did not, he (saws) told them to pay the zakat due on them.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1558 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As

A woman came to the Apostle of Allah (saws) and she was accompanied by her daughter who wore two heavy gold bangles in her hands. He (saws) asked her: ‘Do you pay zakat on them?’ She said: ‘No.’ He (saws) then said: ‘Are you pleased that Allah may put two bangles of fire on your hands?’ Thereupon she took them off and placed them before the Prophet (saws) saying: ‘They are for Allah and His Messenger (saws)’.

Your Question: My mother has been buying and selling some of the jewllery during these ten years so i dont know what exactly zakat was for each year`s.Now we fear Allah and wanted to give Zakat as soon as we can.Please guide us what should we do

Dear and beloved sister in Islam, first and foremost your mother should immediately turn to her Lord Most Gracious in sincere repentance and Taubah for not fulfilling her obligatory duty towards her Lord; it is expected that she will find her Lord Forgiving and Merciful.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

If the zakah dues on the jewelry has not been paid for ten years, then that is a debt which is owed to Allah Subhanah; and without an iota of a doubt, Allah Subhanah has more right than anyone that His debt be fulfilled.

If one does not know the exact value of the jewelry for each year, one should fear Allah and try to may make their best educated guess and assign a value for their jewelry for each of the ten years, and then pay 2.5% on the value of their jewelry for each of the ten years.

Beloved sister, seek the help of your father or any male-mehram relative to take you to a gold-smith who would weigh and value your gold within a few minutes; or alternatively you could get or borrow a precision weighing scale and weigh and value your jewelry yourself.

If the accumulated value that is due in zakah for the past ten years is so much that you cannot take out the payment at one time, there is absolutely no harm if you pay it in installments over the coming year or two….but sister, it would be best, purest and closest to piety to dispose off this zakah amount as soon as you possibly can and fulfill your duty unto your Lord.

If your mother does not have any savings or earnings from which she may pay her zakah, then she would have to sell part of her jewelry and fulfill her zakah dues.

My dear and beloved sister, as much or as little it may be…the payment of zakah is the obligatory right of the poor and needy which the Lord Most Gracious has bestowed from those who have been blessed with abundance from Him. Not only does the Lord purify and bless the balance wealth of those who fulfill their zakah dues properly and promptly, He has promised them magnificent and unending rewards in the Hereafter for their obedience.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan