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Bismillahi Al-Rahmani Al-Rahim
Women's Jewelry And Zakah Q As Salaam Alaikum Ash Shaikh Musa I asked you a questions about the gold that women own not for sale or investment but only for adornment. Is there Zakah on that gold according to the Hanabilah and what are the proofs for and against it. Please answer this questiosn, may Allah reward you. Salaam Alaikum A wa `alaykum al-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu Zakah is not owed for gold and silver jewelry that a woman owns for the sake of adornment, even if it is a great amount, as long as the type of jewelry is that which is typically worm by women. [The above is paraphrased from from the Raud al-murbi` lessons, (e3)] In Al-Mughi, Ibn Qudamah mentions that the opinion that zakah is not owed on women's jewelry has been related from Companions such as Ibn `Omar, Jabir, Anas, `A'ishah, Asma (Allah be pleased with them); and subsequent generations, including Al-Qasim, Al-Sha`bi, Qatadah, Muhammad bin `Ali, `Umarah, Malik, Al-Shafi`i, Abu `Ubayr, Ishaq, and Abu Thaur (Allah be merciful with them). The opinion that zakah is indeed owed on women's jewelry has been related from Companions such as `Omar, Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, `Abd Allah bin `Omar bin al-`Ass (Allah be pleased with them); and subsequent generations, including Sa`id bin al-Musayyib, Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Ata', Mujahid, `Abd Allah bin Shidad, Jabir bin Zayd, Ibn Sirin, Maymun bin Mahran, Al-Zuhri, Sufyan Al-Thauri, and Abu Hanifa (Allah be merciful with them). The basic proof the clearly support the Hanbali position that women can wear gold and silver is the general phrasing of the hadith "Silk and gold are lawful for the females of my ummah, but unlawful for the men," and because the Shari`a has not mentioned any limit to this permissibility. This particular hadith is mentioned in the Sunan of both Al-Tirmidhi [1720], who says it is a well-rigorously-authenticated-hadith, and Al-Nasa'i [8.161]. The same meaning is narrated in the Sahih of Al-Bukhari and Muslim. The basic proof for the Hanbali position that clearly support the Hanbali position that zakah is not owed on the above is the hadith, "There is no zakah owed on jewelry." While this hadith is weakly-authenticated, the Hanbalis do make use of weakly-authenticated hadiths as proof when there is no stronger conclusive textual evidence. They sometimes also mention it as a means of giving the most explicit evidence, especially when proving it using stronger evidence is somewhat complicated and less obvious. As for the proofs against it, Ibn Qudamah mentioned two hadiths used by those who say that there is zakah on women's jewelry and shows not only are they weak, but the Arabic language does not support the interpretation derived from them. He also mentions a position that women's jewelry is zakah-free unless the amount exceeds the customary amount for her people, and shows how this condition is not warranted. The Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi`is, and Hanbalis can bring proofs for their position, rebuttals for the other positions, and counter-rebuttals, and then counter-counter-rebuttals. Unless there is legitimate need to do so, there are other things more pressing in preparing for the grave. [Sources: Al-Mughni 3.8-10; Al-`Uddah sharh al-`umdah; Al-Raud al-murbi` p159-60; Manar al-sabil, p173] And Allah knows best. wa al-salamu `alaykum --musa |