Ask an Alim

Salamun Alaykum

Thank you for your query.

According to Ahl-as-Sunnah the ruling is as follows:

In this case one needs to convert the value of gold into currency and if it reaches Nisab then he will have to pay zakat on it which is 2.5% of the whole amount . For example if he has $10000, then the Zakat would be $250.

There is another valid condition to pass one complete lunar year to have this amount . It could be difficult to know how much one has throughout the year. So, the conclusion is that zakat will be paid on amount which he has at the end of the year . For example if someone’s year starts from 1st of Ramadhan and he has $4000 which is less in middle and next year on 1st of Ramadhan he has $5000 then he will have to pay zakat on last amount he has which is $5000.

There are 2 things in Islam. One is Zakat and the other is Khums. We believe in both whereas some of the people don’t accept Khums nowadays, which had been there since the time of our Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w).

According to Shia aspect the following are the things regarding Zakat and Khums.

Zakat is wajib (obligatory) on the following nine items:

Coins: silver; gold

Cattle: cows; sheep and goats; camels

Crops: wheat; barley; dates; raisins

And Khums is on the surplus to annual expenses. If your income exceeds the annual expenses of yourself and your family, Khums (20%) should be paid from the excess.

According to Ayatullah al-Udhma Sayyid Ali Sistany Zakat is Wajib on 10 things:

Ruling 1871. Zakat is obligatory (wājib) on ten things:

1. wheat; 2. barley; 3. dates; 4. raisins; 5. gold; 6. silver; 7. camels; 8. cows; 9. sheep [and goats]; 10. business goods, based on obligatory precaution (al-ihtiyāt al-wājib).

Ruling 1912. There are two nisābs for gold.

1. Twenty legal (sharʿī) mithqāls.(1) A legal mithqāl is eighteen nukhuds.(2) Therefore, when gold reaches the weight of twenty legal mithqāls – which is equivalent to fifteen common (ṣayrafī) mithqāls – and if the other conditions that were mentioned are fulfilled, one must pay one-fortieth [2.5%] – which is equivalent to nine nukhuds – as zakat. As long as gold does not reach this amount, zakat is not obligatory on it.

2. Four legal mithqāls, which is equivalent to three common mithqāls, meaning that if three [common] mithqāls are added to fifteen [common] mithqāls, one must pay zakat on the entire eighteen mithqāls, which is equivalent to one-fortieth [2.5%]; and if less than three mithqāls is added, he must pay zakat on only fifteen mithqāls [which was the first nisāb mentioned above], and the extra is not liable for zakat. The same applies to every other addition, meaning that if three mithqāls are added, one must pay zakat on the entire amount; and if less than three mithqāls is added, the added amount is not liable for zakat.

(1) One legal mithqāl is equivalent to approximately 3.51 grams; therefore, twenty legal mithqāls is equal to approximately 70.2 grams.

(2) A nukhud is a measure of weight. One nukhud is equivalent to approximately 0.195 grams.

According to Ayatullah al-Udhma Sayyid Ali Sistany Khums is wajib on:

Ruling 1768. Khums becomes obligatory (wājib) on seven things:

1. profit from earnings;

2. mined products;

3. treasure troves;

4. lawful (Halāl) property that has become mixed with unlawful (Harām) property;

5. precious stones that are acquired by underwater diving;

6. spoils of war;

7. land that a dhimmī purchases from a Muslim, based on the well-known (mashhūr) juristic opinion.

To read details of the above mentioned seven things please visit:
https://www.sistani.org/english/book/48/2280/

By gold If you meant jewelry then the following rule applies according to Ayatullah al-Udhma Sayyid Ali Sistany

Question: Is it obligatory to pay Khums from my jewellery?

Answer: If you have used them within a year after you bought them or received them as gifts, Khums is not payable on them.

https://www.sistani.org/english/qa/01234

As you said the Gold is below nisab, hence there is no Zakat for that. But regarding money, if your income exceeds the annual expenses of yourself and your family, Khums (20%) should be paid from the excess. You can choose one Khums date and when that date arrives, the money you have which is the surplus let’s say $1,000, you will have to pay 20% (one fifth in other words) of the whole amount. Which in your case will be $200 which is one fifth of the whole amount($1,000).

Khums must be divided into two parts: one part is the portion for sayyid (sahm al-sādāt), which must be given to a sayyid who is poor, or who is an orphan, or who is stranded on a journey. The second part is the portion for the Imam (sahm al-imām), which at the present time [i.e. during the time of the Imam’s (A) occultation] must either be given to a fully qualified jurist or spent for purposes that he authorises.

You can pay $200 to the office of your Marja(Mujtahid) or to any representative of your Mujtahid

Khums has been mentioned and made compulsory in Quran in Surah Anfal/41

وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلَّـهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ إِن كُنتُمْ آمَنتُم بِاللَّـهِ وَمَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا يَوْمَ الْفُرقَانِ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ وَاللَّـهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Know that whatever thing you may come by, a fifth of it is for Allah and the Apostle, for the relatives and the orphans, for the needy and the traveller, if you have faith in Allah and what We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Separation, the day when the two hosts met; and Allah has power over all things.

To learn about Khums, please visit:

https://www.al-islam.org/khums-islamic-tax-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi

To learn about Zakat in Shia Fiqh, please visit:

https://www.al-islam.org/articles/zakat-shia-fiqh-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi

Wassalam,

Syed Haider