If a woman does not have the money to pay zakah on her jewelry, how can she pay zakah?
Asalaamu Alaikum,
Q: I would like to find out about zakat. Like who has to pay for what in the household. Husband pays for what and wife pays for what. If the wife doesn’t have the means to pay zakat for her jewellery what can she do? Can she pay for what she can afford. Like she can’t pay for her jewellery because it costs a lot but the little savings she has she can afford to pay for that. Please clarify. JazakallahKhair.
Wa Alaikum Assalaam,
A: A person will pay zakat on what he/she owns. Zakat becomes compulsory on one’s savings when it has reached the nisaab. It does not come upon personal items of an individual, house, furniture and appliances, cars etc. which are for one’s personal use. However, in the case of jewellery, one will pay zakat on this even though it may be one’s personal jewellery.
A husband will pay zakat on his savings when it reaches a nisaab, and the wife will pay zakat on her savings when it reaches a nisaab.If the wife does not have the means to pay zakat for her jewellery, then she may give a piece of her jewellery in zakat which is to the value of what she must pay. She may also ask her husband for that amount to pay her zakaah on her jewellery and pay him afterwards when she can do so.
If these cannot be done, she will wait until she has the means and pay for her past zakaah. If finding the means to pay zakaah on her jewellery is difficult, then she will have no other choice except to give part of her jewellery in zakaah.
And Allah Knows Best,
Mufti Wasim Khan.
14/07/15.