Does One Give Zakat for The Previous Years Using The Current Value of Gold?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I need help calculating Zakat due for a family member who’s unsure if they paid Zakat during a certain past time period. For example:
Since 1990, they had 1kg of gold. However, they did not pay Zakat until 2012 due to accidental negligence. Also, starting from 2010, they saved $12,000 in cash for three years. By the end of 2011, they had $24,000; by the end of 2012, they had $36,000. How much Zakat do they owe from 1990 to 2012?
For gold, is Zakat due 2.5% of its current market value for the entire 23-year period, or do we calculate 2.5% of the gold rate during each respective year? (In 1990, the gold rate was $386.20/oz. So, 2.5% of 35.274 oz (1kg) is $340.57. But the current gold rate is $2,063/oz, so 2.5% of 35.274 oz is $1,819.)
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
If you need to pay your zakat for previous years, you will use the gold rate value of each respective year. See the link below to find out the gold price history. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; ‘Ala’ al-Din Ibn ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]
One should also repent and seek forgiveness for delaying the payment of Zakat.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.
Related:
- How Can I Pay My Zakat on Gold?
- Gold Price History | GOLD.co.uk
- Gold Price History
- Zakat: A Comprehensive SeekersGuidance Reader
- SeekersGuidance Zakat Calculator
- Paying Zakat Late – SeekersGuidance
- Prayer of Repentance: Salat al-Tawba – SeekersGuidance
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
