Aqeedah and Fiqh
Zakaah: Worth Its Weight In Gold
It is that time of the year again. Ramadan has begun to signal it’s imminent arrival. For most, that might imply a dread of fasting longer, hotter days. For others, it might mean saving more to stock up their freezers. For some lucky people, it might indicate the time to start making travel arrangements for performing umrah or itikaaf in Islam’s holy sites in Saudi Arabia. For most, however, including me, it implies preparing for project “Yearly Zakaah: Calculation and Discharge“.
The basic reasons why most Muslims discharge their yearly Zakaah during Ramadan are:
- It gains more rewards – multiplied by 70 times, at the very least. That is why it can be given in advance, during Ramadan. It is imperative, on the other hand, that if it has become due before Ramadan, it should be given at once, and not delayed in the hope for more reward.
- It is easier to keep track of Zakaah if one has the habit of discharging it in a prominent Muslim month, i.e. the latter’s arrival provides a convenient reminder to start planning how much and where, to pay off one’s Zakaah.
- It is the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] to become extra generous during this month, akin to a wind that brings much gain i.e. fruit/agricultural produce: Narrated Ibn Abbas [may Allah be pleased with him] who said: “The Prophet [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] was the most generous of people, and he was even more generous during Ramadan when Jibreel met him. Jibreel used to meet him every night in Ramadan until it was over and the Prophet would go through the Qur’an with him. The Messenger of Allah was more generous with good things than the blowing wind (which brings rain and welfare).” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
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In the current scenario, when the economic crisis and global “credit crunch” has left many Muslims struggling financially, and like other people all over the world, striving to hold on to their jobs, save and scrimp any extra money they possibly can, look for alternative modes of earning and sources of income, and to spend very cautiously, generating enough liquidity to pay off one’s Zakaah becomes an added concern. All extravagant expenditures have started to be curtailed, or so we like to think, in such a scenario.
So the problem with giving Zakaah this coming Ramadan is, to a great extent, the challenge of generating enough extra cash to be able to pay off the due on our assets. People who nowadays own lavish homes, individual cars for members of the household, electricity-bill-thumping appliances such as washers, driers, air conditioners, microwave ovens, dishwashers, hair-irons, kettles, coffee-makers and heaters, and have their children enrolled in expensive private schools are, to put it mildly, in a fix. They can no longer afford their lavish lifestyle yet find it difficult to step down a few rungs on their social ladder in order to curtail their extravagant expenditure.
The simple solution to this problem lies as much with the Muslim women of the family as much as the men. Please let me explain: I have been teaching a short subject, “The Book of Zakaah“, based on the book “Kitab Al-Zakah” by Iqbal Kaylani, to adult women at Al-Huda International for several years, and each time I cover the subject, I am surprised and equally disappointed, to be asked the same questions over and over by them. One of the most oft-recurring question is,
“How do we pay the Zakaah on our gold jewelry when we do not earn money?”
Most women innocently assume that they are absolved from paying Zakaah on their gold because of this reason, or that it is primarily and completely their husbands’ responsibility, and not their concern at all. They assert that the husband should, therefore, always pay the Zakaah on their gold. Other women come up with certain ahadith as ‘proof’ that Zakaah is not to be paid on gold that is in regular use by them i.e. that which they wear. Others still, come up with other ‘ahadith‘ claiming that Zakaah is not due on gold at all. Others, still, – the rarer lot – suggest that women should save money from their household budget each month to pay off the yearly Zakaah on their gold. Not one – I repeat – not one woman student have I come across to this day, who would give the suggestion that women sell off some of their gold jewelry to generate the required amount of Zakaah on it.
Has your jaw dropped? Are you stunned? If so, why, may I ask? Sadly, this is the reaction of most Muslim women when I suggest this solution. However, I do not understand this reaction at all. Why is the idea of selling gold to generate money for sadaqah in the way of Allah so shocking or unthinkable?
Is it not what Allah has ordained?
لَن تَنَالُواْ الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنفِقُواْ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ
“By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you give (freely) of that which you love.” [3: 92]
Was it not the suggestion of our Prophet Muhammad [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] directed specifically at Muslim women, to give a lot of sadaqah/charity from their ornaments?
Narrated Ibn Abbas: “I am a witness that Allah’s Apostle offered the ‘Eid prayer before delivering the sermon, and then he thought that the women would not be able to hear him (because of the distance), so he went to them along with Bilal, who was spreading his garment. The Prophet advised and ordered them to give in charity. So the women started giving their ornaments (in charity).” (The sub-narrator Ayub pointed towards his ears and neck meaning, that they gave ornaments from those places, such as ear-rings and necklaces.)
[Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 2, Book 24, No. 529]
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: “On ‘Eid Al-Fitr or ‘Eid Al-Adha, Allah’s Apostle [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] went out to the Musallah. After finishing the prayer, he delivered the sermon and ordered the people to give alms. He said, “O people! Give alms.” Then he went towards the women and said. “O women! Give alms, for I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-Fire were you (women).” The women asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is the reason for it?” He replied, “O women! You curse frequently, and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. O women, some of you can lead a cautious wise man astray.” Then he left. And when he reached his house, Zainab, the wife of Ibn Masud, came and asked permission to enter. It was said, “O Allah’s Apostle! It is Zainab.” He asked, ‘Which Zainab?” The reply was that she was the wife of Ibn Masud. He said, “Yes, allow her to enter.” And she was admitted. Then she said, “O Prophet of Allah! Today you ordered people to give alms and I had an ornament and intended to give it as alms, but Ibn Masud said that he and his children deserved it more than anybody else.” The Prophet replied, “Ibn Masud had spoken the truth. Your husband and your children had more right to it than anybody else.”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 2, Book 24, No. 541]
Narrated ‘Amr bin Al-Harith: “Zainab, the wife of ‘Abdullah said, “I was in the Mosque and saw the Prophet [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] saying,
تَصَدَّقنَ وَ لَو مِن حُلِىِّكُنَّ
“O women! Give alms, even from your ornaments.”
{*Excuse the Arabic typo in the last word; the Arabic editor didn’t connect the letters properly. It is meant to be “huliyyikunna” and means “your ornaments”}
…Zainab used to provide for ‘Abdullah and those orphans who were under her protection. So she said to ‘Abdullah, “Will you ask Allah’s Apostle whether it will be sufficient for me to spend part of the Zakaah on you and the orphans who are under my protection?” He replied “Will you yourself ask Allah’s Apostle?” (Zainab added): So I went to the Prophet and I saw there an Ansari woman who was standing at the door (of the Prophet) with a similar problem as mine. Bilal passed by us and we asked him, ‘Ask the Prophet whether it is permissible for me to spend (the Zakaah) on my husband and the orphans under my protection.’ And we requested Bilal not to inform the Prophet about us. So Bilal went inside and asked the Prophet regarding our problem. The Prophet [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] asked, “Who are those two?” Bilal replied that she was Zainab. The Prophet said, “Which Zainab?” Bilal said, “The wife of ‘Adullah (bin Masud).” The Prophet said, “Yes, (it is sufficient for her) and she will receive a double reward (for that): One for helping relatives, and the other for giving Zakaah.”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 2, Book 24, No. 545]
The ahadith above give clear proof of that fact that women should donate their ornaments in charity, and particularly if their husbands are in need. In fact, women may give Zakaah, the obligatory charity, to their husbands first, if the latter are deserving of it.
Was it not the way of our mothers and aslaaf (pious predecessors) to give away gold or silver in sadaqah?
When our mother, Umm Habibah [may Allah be pleased with her], received the glad tidings of Prophet Muhammad’s [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] marriage proposal for her in Abyssinia, she gave the ornaments she was wearing, then and there, to the slave-girl who had brought her this good news.
Then why do we Muslim women feel so reluctant to convert our gold ornaments to liquid cash in order to discharge an obligation of Islam that is one of its most fundamental pillars?
Simple answer: We love gold. Oh boy, do we love it! We love to wear it, flaunt it, and store it for our sons’ and daughters’ marriages. We pass down cherished heirlooms in order to maintain familial traditions. The more antique the jewelry is, the more we hold it close to our hearts.
Most women are in the habit of gradually collecting ornaments over the years. The reason why jewelers’ shops do roaring business worldwide is the symbol of this attachment of the female hearts to anything that twinkles, shines and is worth millions. I admit I was very surprised on visiting Madinah for the first time, to see that even the majority of shops outside Masjid-e-Nabawi were those selling gold jewelry.
So how can Muslim women help their husbands and/or brothers and sons out this year, in paying off their Zakaah?
Simply, convert some of your trinkets and/or rings, bangles, bracelets or earrings to liquid cash, and use that cash to give off Zakaah. I wouldn’t be preaching this had I not done it myself. I can promise you that you’ll feel tremendous closeness to Allah and serene joy of faith as a result, as long as you do not brag about your sadaqah to anyone; that is, you do not waste what you’ve done.
I also happen to know of other women who have similarly donated their jewelry, wedding clothes or other precious possessions; they do not, in any way, feel guilty or regretful for having done so. Life is short; so many chances of doing sadaqah pass us by, yet we continue to hold on to our clothes and jewelry as if they’ll stay with us forever. Wake up, O Muslimah! Remember that your permanent abode is the Hereafter, with the only permanent joys and blessings being those given to the dwellers of Paradise; therefore, strive to attain that long-lasting abode by letting go of just a wee bit of the things you love in this passing, worldly life, and then taste the sweetness of faith, and the high levels of taqwa that Allah will bless you with, as a consequence.
Evidence that Muslim women are permitted to wear gold
Details of the difference of opinion regarding zakaah on gold and silver intended for use
Zakaah has to be paid on gold inherited, by its owner
Allah knows best and is the Source of strength.
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UmA
July 30, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Jazakillah khayr for covering the important issue of ‘the desi bride’s burden’.
From what I understand, surely the point is that of ownership. When something is ‘zakatable’ the zakah is to be paid from that resource and the obligation is on the owner of that resource, not the owner’s husband etc.
Another important reminder I once heard is that, unwittingly, some women may own enough gold to oblige them for hajj.
May Allah make it easy for us to take ownership of ourselves and hold our assets to account.
Sr. Sadaf, would you know where we could look up which karats of gold assets are zakatable?
matter of fact
July 30, 2009 at 3:03 PM
“Another important reminder I once heard is that, unwittingly, some women may own enough gold to oblige them for hajj. “
*Very very* important point. Sister’s please read this twice. Many people’s attachment with gold and fear of giving it up (peer pressure etc) stops you from your own obligations (hajj, debt etc)!
Sadaf
July 31, 2009 at 1:57 AM
Bismillah
Jazakillahu khairan for your positive comment and the very necessary reminder, UmA.
Indeed the issue is of ownership. The owner should pay up. Scholars have allowed Muslim women to be provided Zakaah money by her husbands, but Muslim women should not use this leeway to not spend their own wealth (e.g. Mahr money) or to not liquidate their own gold to generate cash.
As for how much zakaah is due on how many carats: you leave out the impurity percentage in the gold (taking 24 carats to be 100%), and pay off 2.5% on THE REMAINING weight.
Allah knows best.
UmA
August 3, 2009 at 8:51 AM
So, is my Math okay on this….22K = 91.6% purity?
Therefore 100g of 22K gold = 91.6g zakatable weight?
Assuming that’s correct….with today’s rate of gold being approx $30/gm:
100 g of 22K gold = ($30 rate x 90 g approx weight) = $2700.
So zakah on 100g of 22k gold = 2.5 % x 2700 = .025 x 2700 = roughly $67.50 zakah
Wow so 100g of 22k gold is like a 1/3 of a hajj expense or a great charity or investment opportunity.
Could someone help me out with the 22k=91.6% purity. Is that how purity of gold is meant to be calculated?
Reem
July 30, 2009 at 12:49 PM
JazakAllahuKhair for this great article…
Instead of turning it into liquid cash, often times, during masjid and/or islamic school fundraisers I will donate a piece of jewelry to be actioned off.
MM Associates
July 30, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Jazakh-Allah khair.
An excellent article. It is this type of article that makes me love MM so much.
-J.Hashmi
tabassum ahsan
July 30, 2009 at 2:53 PM
JazakAllah . very nice article, covered a very important issue, hope more women get to read it
UmHefsa
July 30, 2009 at 3:49 PM
“O women! You curse frequently, and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. O women, some of you can lead a cautious wise man astray.”
Can you please give some tafsir on this hadith quoted in the article? I have a brother in law who was telling me that women are less intelligent than men. I didn’t pay much heed to his proofs until I saw this hadith. Can anyone clarify or give the arabic text of it?
Jzk.
Subhan
July 31, 2009 at 3:54 PM
Salaam Sister Umm Hefsa,
I saw your comment and remembered another narration of this hadith, which has an addition at the end – relating specifically to this:
‘I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you.’
Then the Prophet (pbuh) went on to say ( I have parapharased this from memory): Is not the witness of two women equal to one man and are there not times ( ie periods) when a women is not able to fufill religious obligations such as salah.
I hope this gives some clarification, I am not scholar but I thought to share what I did know on this matter.
Sista
July 30, 2009 at 3:57 PM
JazakAllah Khair! :)
A much needed reminder.
Amatullah
July 30, 2009 at 4:59 PM
Jazaaki Allahu khayran Sadaf. I truly enjoy and look forward to your articles. May Allah bless you and increase you, Ameen.
Norma Loquendi
July 30, 2009 at 6:17 PM
I am not clear on the concept of this payment. From what I’m reading here it seems as if Muslims are supposed to pay a yearly tithe based on the aggregate of all the assets they own at the time the payment comes due, no matter when they were purchased, not just their income from that year. If the person has enough assets they also have to do the hajj (which I infer is one of the required Muslim pilgrimages).
Am I right in this? If so, what percentage of a Muslim’s assets are “taxable” in this way, and where does the money go? For instance, is it acceptable to make donations to specific charities chosen by the person who is tithing and count that as the zakah? Or, is it something that has to be paid to the religious leaders of the community, for distribution by them to…. what? The poor? Their own coffers (as has very often been the case when tithes offered by Catholics are entrusted to their priests…)?
Also, is this the same thing as the jizya (pardon me if I’ve got that one wrong) that the Muslims are said to impose on those who don’t accept their religion, much like the recusancy fees levied by English Protestants against the (mainly) Irish Catholics a couple of hundred years ago?
Thanks for any clarification you can give to a curious outsider…
UmA
July 31, 2009 at 12:38 AM
Remember a tithe would a tenth, in Islam typically zakah is due on assets accumulated over a year, provided they meet a minimum amount. 2.5% is payable and to a recipient of one’s choosing who falls within those who are eligible to receive zakah.
Sorry can’t elaborate more right now, but that’s the general gist and, no they don’t have to pay it to a central authority
UmA
July 31, 2009 at 12:43 AM
So 2.5 % is usually the payable amount, not a tenth which is what I understand a Christian tithe would have been
Norma Loquendi
July 31, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Thank you for your response. It is handy to know the percentage – I was pretty impressed to find that Muslims were supposed to pay on assets on top of income, though if it’s really only a payment on assets acquired during a year (which is paid for with the money for that year, presumably) then it sounds more financially do-able. I was imagining you all virtually bankrupting yourselves, like the local aboriginal people used to do when they hosted potlaches to gain spiritual honour. Glad to see it’s not that grim.
Sadaf Farooqi
July 31, 2009 at 2:03 AM
Norma, thanks for asking.
Zakaah is a little complicated to understand at first, but the bottomline is that it is a portion of a Muslim’s wealth which he or she has to pay every lunar year, if the wealth reaches a certain threshold and a year passes by without it being reduced below that threshold (called “Nisab”). E.g. the nisab of gold is approximately 87 grams.
For more information: please see below, where all kinds of questions on Zakaah are answered in detail:
http://www.islam-qa.com/en/cat/289
Norma Loquendi
July 31, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Thank you for your answer and the site link. I’ll check it out.
Olivia
July 30, 2009 at 7:09 PM
I think with Muslims thinking they can turn to riba and credit cards bc they’re so broke, it’s time to sell the gold, no matter what your in-laws think. How can we stand before Allah with the excuse of using riba and having debt when we have all this gold just chilling?
SaqibSaab
July 30, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Related blog post by wife wife asking why do girls even have so much of that jewelry sitting around anyway? –> http://www.anightingale.com/2008/02/25/moderation-not-extravagance/
I mean, most of that jewlery just sits around, anyway, right? Meaning, it’s not even worn?
And I would imagine that is a definite yes to practicing sisters who dress in proper hijab 24/7, there’s no real way for them to wear the jewelry all to often, save at home or maybe the occasional girls-only party.
Sadaf Farooqi
July 31, 2009 at 2:29 AM
As a sister who has been married for 5 years, yes I can vouch for what you have said. Most of the jewelry does just sit around. The heavier pieces get worn only on Eid or at segregated weddings (because of my observance of hijab), or occasionally, at home.
These are the very pieces that incur the heaviest zakaah, so by now I am sort of starting to question why I have to keep so much gold locked up in the first place, when it hardly gets used? The aunties say, “For your kids’ weddings” – and they are right, to a certain extent (because it would cost a whole lot more to get all the kids’ jewelry made from scratch 2 decades down……).
However, nowadays I see most brides opting for their own, latest-design, custom-made necklaces and earrings for their wedding day, not their mother’s hand-me-downs, which are no longer in vogue, and which do not match their wedding dress color (talk about nakhray! :)). They prefer to wear just one set of jewelry rather than a whole potpourri of mixed stuff. So saving jewelry over decades for your daughter or bahu, just to have it disregarded or not appreciated by her, doesn’t make much sense.
Plus, we Muslims believe that whatever we spend for Allah, is compensated for amply by Him, not only in the Akhirah, but in this world as well. I am sure Allah will provide our children with great stuff on their weddings, if we try to give up some jewelry we love – solely for His pleasure – right now, when we are younger, fearful of poverty and desirous of more wealth:
When the Prophet Muhammad was asked which charity is best, he replied, “That you should give charity (in a state when you are) healthy, closefisted, haunted by the fear of poverty and hoping to become rich. And you must not defer (charity to such a length) that you are about to die and would be saying: This is for so and so, and this is for so and so. Lo, it has already come into (the possession of so and so).” (Reported by Muslim)
HalfDate
July 30, 2009 at 7:22 PM
Good timing for Ramadan, even though Zakah shouldn’t be BLINDLY linked to Ramadan.
May Allah purify our wealth with Zakah
Muslim Husband
July 31, 2009 at 1:26 AM
As-salaamualaikum,
Many women/wives keep their gold and silver and pay the equivalent in money. I believe this is better and wiser. This way they can use the gold and silver in other ways:
1. Gold holds value and so its better/smarter investment to hold onto.
– i know one imam who made some good money over the years trading gold
2. You can pass it on to your children or their wives!
3. You can give it as gifts/presents during wedding season to your friends and family!
4. You can hold it since you know it has value and paper money can one day be worth nothing!
By the way, the husband can choose to pay for his wife’s zakah if he wants.
Just my 2 cents.
was-salaamualaikum
Sadaf Farooqi
July 31, 2009 at 2:11 AM
You are right in what you have said. Most Muslim women I know follow this method i.e. their husbands willingly pay their gold’s zakaah in cash form (which is permissible) and save their gold jewelry for their children or as an investment. Also, they consistently make new gold jewelry every year or other year.
What do you say about this exccessive love for gold in women, and their incessant desire to constantly make more without giving any of it away for Allah’s sake (i.e. not to their children or to other family members)? Does this tendency coincide with higher levels of taqwa, as depicted in the ahadeeth above?
cotton eye joe
July 31, 2009 at 4:56 AM
its a great time for the sisters to sell their gold. Gold value is at an all time high
Umm Ahmad
July 31, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Jazaki Allah khair for the excellent reminder,I hope we all muslim women can get rid of loving gold .
Mezba
July 31, 2009 at 3:25 PM
Wow… somehow an article on Gold and Zakat turned into women bashing. I was looking forward to an insight of zakat and am disappointed. So typical of MuslimMatters though.
Please take this suggestion constructively and I hope we can read an article on common misconceptions of zakat soon.
amad
August 1, 2009 at 6:27 AM
im sorry… Dont get it. A sister is talking to her sisters about a common malaise in our society… How is this woman bashing?
Amy
July 31, 2009 at 8:02 PM
An excellent article, informative but also useful and timely, serving the best purpose to remind us (especially ladies) of our obligations. Jazakillahu khayran.
Olivia
August 1, 2009 at 7:27 PM
I also fail to understand how it’s woman-bashing. I think someone’s being sensitive.
I think its is a valuable investment if you don’t have debt. So many people turn to credit cards or have debts from college. It can be a wise way to pay of a hunk of that debt. It’s like, why are we saving gold and paying money on it if we’re living with the black-hole of debt?
Abu Yunus
August 2, 2009 at 4:44 PM
I am not understanding this statement as Zakaah is not due on property that is used besides gold jewelry. From what I have read, I only came across what is mentioned about zakaah due on property that is allocated for sale. For example, all the applicances that you mentioned if they are used by the household, zakaah is not due on it. And the reason I am mentioning this is because you followed up all these applicances after talking about paying off due on our assets.
“So the problem with giving Zakaah this coming Ramadan is, to a great extent, the challenge of generating enough extra cash to be able to pay off the due on our assets. People who nowadays own lavish homes, individual cars for members of the household, electricity-bill-thumping appliances such as washers, driers, air conditioners, microwave ovens, dishwashers, hair-irons, kettles, coffee-makers and heaters.”
Sadaf
August 2, 2009 at 11:14 PM
You are right that Zakaah is not applicable on items which we use ourselves; those which have not been bought with the intention of re-sale for profit. Those appliances were mentioned as an observation of how they become more common for use by the average person, so when the economy takes a turn for the worse and people need to cut down on their bills, they sort of have to curtail the use of these “luxuries”.
Please read till the end of the paragraph having this sentence. Jazak Allah.
mcpagal
August 2, 2009 at 8:10 PM
Great article mA! We had a seminar on zakat last year at our women’s Islamic centre and it helped clear up a lot of these misconceptions – I had no idea I needed to pay zakat til then, I never even thought about it and my dad pretty much took care of it.
I don’t really get the gold attraction – it’s just a cultural thing I guess, gives a sense of security. I read an article online a while back (can’t seem to find it now) about a couple who transferred all their savings into the form of gold bullion because they were afraid of their bank collapsing!
(Also, I hate to be that girl but the apostrophe in the title is superfluous…)
Sadaf
August 2, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Hehehe, no you are not “that” girl at all for pointing this out. :)
I will edit it, insha’Allah. Jazakillahu khairan.
May Allah preserve the person who gifts me my mistakes.
Saif
August 3, 2009 at 9:26 AM
Salam alaikum,
Since you’ve quoted the Hadith in full, I think the naqisat al-aql wa al-din (deficient in intellect and religion) part needs some clarification from our scholars here. In the absence of a proper explanation, people will be free to make their own assumptions.
Voyageure
August 6, 2009 at 5:39 PM
You post was just on time sr Sadaf!
I had been worrying sick about whether I have to pay the zakaah, for the first time in my life, on gold that I acquired.
Jazakillaahu khayr for explaining it in detail.
Just so it is clear, the 2.5% comes from this hadeeth: Narrated by Abu Dawood (1572) from ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If it is two hundred dirhams, then five dirhams are due, and if it is more than that, it should be worked out on that basis.†Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
5/200 = 0.025 * 100 = 2.5%
Jake
December 28, 2009 at 10:33 PM
Enjoyed reading your article and follow up by your muslim readers. Not being a follower of Islam as a concerned person I am trying to learn and understand your faith. I have been reading a English version of the KORAN and sometimes I do not understand if I am reading religion or law? But I hang in and at least now I know what a ZAKAAH is and what it respresents to Muslims. Now I have to find out why the Sunni and Shite are so adverse to each other. Allah Be Praised!
Amad
December 28, 2009 at 11:58 PM
Jake,
if you have more questions about Islam, feel free to ask them here. Or you could even email us and we could put you in touch with a convert who went through a similar learning process as you.
Thanks
info at muslimmatters dot org
Sadaf
May 30, 2013 at 10:11 PM
A few years ago my husband’s family declared that all the daughters in law are responsible for their own zakat on the gold that they owned. I must admit it sounded quite unpleasant to me since Alhamdolillah they are quite well off whereas none of the women are working or rather are not allowed to work outside the home. We don’t get any money for household expenses either as most of the transactions are through credit card. The only option left for me was to sell off my gold every year. In our desi culture, jewellery is somehow considered ‘ghar ki izzat’ and is only sold for cash in extreme circumstances , so it seemed quite humiliating to me. Moreover, each piece had some sentimental value for me as it was lovingly bought by my Mom or gifted by some other family member. Earlier, I had voluntarily donated some jewellery and all my mehr money to our local masjid but when it was imposed it hurt me because my husband had always said that I don’t need to earn as he will provide for me but for zakat on gold his logic was that since it’s my personal property and he doesn’t gain anything out of it he should not be held responsible for it. I knew very well that in the akhirah I will be responsible for it, so I kept on selling my jewellery. Eventually I decided to start a home based Islamic clothing business so that I could atleast save enough to pay off my zakat every year because I feel I do need some kind of asset if tough times fall .