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:

Dear Brother,

I have recieved this mail from one of my relative  after forwarding a mail from your side on Zakath Please clarify 2 the earliest.

huda tv is  live channel in saudi arabia, very authentic, and very practical, keeping money in fixed deposits is totally against our religion, and so also the insurance policies. The pretext being you are not subjected to any loss of money and you are getting interest on the same, which is but a form of ribah(money lending), hence try to remove your money from fixed deposits, i tried to cancel my insurance policies, but i backed out because we will end up losing a lot of money.

But regarding gold, there is no authentic hadith, wihch says you have to give 2.5 percent of what you have, as it is intended for personel use, however if you want to invest in the same and if you are planning to sell it to make profit, than you its mandatory for you to give zakah on the same, its the same like having a benz car for which you are not paying zakah, as it is your personal thing, for your use only, and your house, as you are using it for your living sake, these are exempt from zakah.

Its strange that most of the indians give zakah, on things where its not mandatory, but do not give zakah on things which they are bound to give, like money you get from rent, is zakahable, and so is the land you hold, if the intension is for selling and making some profit. In zakah it is the intension which counts. Forward this mail to your website and do let me know.

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Answer:

Zakah on gold ornaments

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The Statement: ….But regarding gold, there is no authentic hadith, wihch says you have to give 2.5 percent of what you have, as it is intended for personel use,

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

A woman came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and she was accompanied by her daughter who wore two heavy gold bangles in her hands. He (saws) said to 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 (on the Day of Judgment)?’ Thereupon she took them off and placed them before the Prophet (saws) saying: ‘They are for Allah and His Messenger (saws) (to distribute to the poor as they will).’

If the value of one’s total excess assets is above the prescribed value of ‘nisaab’, indeed that person would be liable to pay the annual ‘zakah’ on their gold jewelry, regardless of whether that jewelry is for personal use or not.

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