Gold, silver and the schools’ views
Zakat on jewellery for Muslim women
Whether the jewellery you wear needs zakat depends on the school you follow. Here are both views, the nisab and how to work it out.
Zakat on jewellery in numbers
- 87.48 g of gold is the nisab: 20 dinars Sunan Abi Dawud 1573
- 612.36 g of silver is the nisab: 200 dirhams Sunan Abi Dawud 1573
- 2.5% of the value is the zakat: a quarter of a tenth Sahih al-Bukhari 1454
- 1 lunar year held before zakat falls due Sunan Abi Dawud 1573
Two views on zakat on jewellery
It depends on your school. The Hanafi school says zakat is due on gold and silver jewellery, worn or not, once your zakatable wealth reaches the nisab. It cites the woman whose daughter wore two heavy gold bangles, whom the Prophet ﷺ asked whether she paid their zakat (Sunan Abi Dawud 1563). The Maliki, Shafi‘i and Hanbali schools say jewellery a woman wears in a normal way has no zakat. All four count jewellery kept as savings or for sale.
Work out your zakat first, then see where every pound of it goes.
What counts, and what doesn’t
Gold and silver only. Diamonds, pearls and other stones have no zakat of their own unless you hold them to sell, and gold-plated and costume jewellery has none.
Count the pure gold. 24 carat is pure; 22 carat is 91.6% gold, 18 carat 75% and 9 carat 37.5%. A 10 g chain of 22 carat holds 9.16 g of pure gold.
Whose zakat it is
The owner pays. Jewellery belongs to the woman who owns it, including gold given as her mahr, which is hers alone (Quran 4:4). Her husband may pay its zakat for her if she agrees. Gold set aside for a daughter’s wedding is the zakat of whoever owns it until it is given to her.
Working it out, for Muslim women with gold
Weigh, convert, add, and pay 2.5%. Find the pure gold in each piece, multiply by today’s price per gram, and add it to your other zakatable wealth. If the total reaches the nisab, a quarter of a tenth is due (Sahih al-Bukhari 1454). Zakat on Gold does the sum for any weight and carat, and DonateOpenly’s guide to the gold and silver nisab explains which threshold to use.
Paying it
Where you can follow it. Pay your zakat through DonateOpenly, where zakat is kept for zakat causes and shown on its open ledger, or work out your whole zakat first with the DonateOpenly zakat calculator, which adds your savings, gold and investments together.
Zakat on jewellery: questions Muslim women ask
Do I pay zakat on gold I wear every day?
For the Hanafi school, yes, once your zakatable wealth reaches the nisab (Sunan Abi Dawud 1563). The other three schools say no for jewellery worn in a normal way; Umm Salamah was told that gold whose zakat is paid is not hoarded treasure (Sunan Abi Dawud 1564).
Is there zakat on my mahr?
Once you have received it, it is your wealth like any other (Quran 4:4), so gold or money from it counts towards your zakat. The schools differ on a deferred mahr not yet paid, so ask a scholar you trust.
Gold or silver nisab: which do I use?
Both come from the same hadith (Sunan Abi Dawud 1573). Silver’s nisab is far lower, so more people pass it; many use it for cash savings and gold for gold alone. DonateOpenly explains the difference.