Paying Zakat on Shared Jewelry

Question: If gold and silver jewelry is shared by two or three people, like sisters, mothers, and daughters, and it reaches or is above the nisab amount, how can zakat be calculated on it for each person, as it is shared by these people?

Answer:

Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh,

I pray you are well.

The Owner Pays the Zakat

Whoever owns the gold and silver is the one that has to pay zakat for it. This is usually whoever purchased the jewelry, or whoever it was given to as a gift, for example.

If they are all the owners of the jewelry, the value of the jewelry is to be divided, and everyone is to calculate their own zakat with their share’s value. If it is not clear, you have to first establish who the owner is and move forward from there (Quduri, Matn al Quduri).

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
Abdul-Rahim

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.