How do I calculate zakat on gold and jewellery?

On whether worn jewellery is zakatable at all, the scholars genuinely differ — and the position Shaykh Ibn Baz and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen preferred is that it is.

First, what you own

The calculation depends on why you hold the gold, because the scholars treat each case differently.

• Jewellery for wearing or lending: this is the disputed category. Shaykh Ibn Baz held zakat is due on it once it reaches the threshold, and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen agreed, saying there is no text, consensus or sound analogy distinguishing jewellery from other gold. Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan took the opposite view — that worn jewellery is like clothing and housing, so no zakat is due, though he noted that giving it is safer. IslamWeb reports that what it issues is the view of most scholars, that worn jewellery carries no zakat, with precaution in giving it.
• Gold kept for saving, not wearing: zakat is due on its weight once it reaches the threshold. Shaykh al-Fawzan states this plainly.
• Gold held for trade: zakat is due on its market value, not its weight, and on the whole piece including any stones, as a trade good.

Working out the threshold

The threshold is measured on the pure gold, not the total weight of the piece. IslamWeb explains that for gold of a lower carat — anything mixed with another metal — you calculate the pure content by multiplying the grams you own by the carat and dividing by twenty-four. If the result reaches 85 grams, zakat is due on that pure amount.

For a piece set with stones, Shaykh Ibn Baz advises having people experienced in the trade assess how much gold it actually contains. If that gold reaches the threshold, zakat is due on it. The diamonds, pearls and other stones carry no zakat while the piece is for wearing; if it is for trade, they are valued along with it.

Gold and silver are not added together to complete one threshold. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen and al-Tuwijri both state this: half a threshold of gold plus half a threshold of silver does not make one threshold, just as barley is not added to wheat.

Doing the calculation

Once a full lunar year has passed over the gold while it has stayed at or above the threshold, work out the zakat in one of two ways.

1. By weight: divide the total grams by forty. The result is the zakat owed in gold. Al-Tuwijri gives the example of 600 grams: 600 ÷ 40 = 15 grams.
2. By value: multiply the current price of a gram by the number of grams, then divide by forty. At 50 per gram, 600 grams is 30,000, and 30,000 ÷ 40 = 750 — the zakat owed.

Shaykh Ibn Baz notes the same figure another way: on ten thousand, two hundred and fifty. The rate is always 2.5%, or twenty-five in every thousand.

Which value, and when

Value the gold at its market price on the day the year completes — not at what you paid for it. Shaykh Ibn Baz is explicit that the earlier purchase price is not considered; what counts is what the gold is worth at the time of zakat, whether you pay in Ramadan or any other month.

If you own several pieces bought in different months and cannot recall each date, Shaykh Ibn Baz's answer to exactly this question is to gather all of it, weigh it, and give zakat on the whole once a year. He suggests asking the goldsmith for the weight.

If you have not been paying

Zakat is owed from the year you learned it was obligatory on your jewellery. Shaykh Ibn Baz, answering someone who had owned jewellery for years without paying, ruled that the years before she knew carry no zakat, because religious rulings bind only after knowledge. Once you know, the obligation stands.

Key takeaways

• The rate is 2.5% of the gold's value, due after one full lunar year above the threshold.
• The threshold is 85 grams of pure gold (or 595 grams of silver); for lower-carat gold, calculate the pure content first.
• Gold and silver are not combined to reach one threshold.
• Value the gold at its market price when the year completes, not at purchase.
• On worn jewellery the scholars differ; Shaykh Ibn Baz and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen held zakat is due, Shaykh al-Fawzan, the Hanbali school and most scholars that it is not — and giving it is the safer course.

Further reading

• Ibn Baz, Majmu' Fatawa wa Maqalat, the sections on zakat of jewellery
• Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, the chapter on zakat of gold and silver
• Al-Tuwijri, Mawsu'at al-Fiqh al-Islami, the section on zakat of gold and silver

And Allah knows best.