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Ibn Uthaymin

Risala fi Zakat al-Huli

Author died
1421 AH
Editions
Dār al-Waṭan lil-Nashr

Risala fi Zakat al-Huli (Treatise on the Zakat of Jewelry) is a legal monograph authored by the Saudi jurist Ibn Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE), dedicated to examining the juristic obligation of paying zakat on permissible gold and silver jewelry.

Background and Composition

Ibn Uthaymin completed the treatise on 12 Safar 1382 AH (1962 CE), and its first printing appeared in the same year. The work addresses a classic point of contention in Islamic jurisprudence: whether zakat is due on gold and silver jewelry kept for lawful personal use or lending. While the prevailing position within the Hanbali school—as well as the schools of Malik and al-Shafi'i—exempts permissible jewelry from zakat, Ibn Uthaymin departed from his school’s dominant view to argue for its mandatory annual payment. The text was later read back to the author during his lessons on Zad al-Mustaqni' and appended into the zakat section of his commentary, al-Sharh al-Mumti'.

Contents and Scholarly Debate

The author outlines five divergent positions held by early and classical authorities regarding permissible jewelry:

  1. No zakat is due on it, which is the well-known position of Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (unless kept for living expenditure, or for rental according to Hanbalis).
  2. Zakat is due once in its lifetime, attributed to Anas ibn Malik.
  3. Its zakat is fulfilled merely by lending it to others, reported from Asma bint Abi Bakr and Anas ibn Malik.
  4. An obligatory choice between paying zakat or lending it out, a view favored by Ibn al-Qayyim in al-Turuq al-Hukmiyyah.
  5. Zakat is obligatory annually if the jewelry meets the minimum threshold (nisab), representing the position of Abu Hanifa, one narration from Ahmad, one opinion within the Shafi'i school, and the conclusion preferred by the author.

Arguments and Methodology

To substantiate the obligation of zakat, Ibn Uthaymin draws upon textual proofs from the Quran, hadith, and early reports (athar):

  • Quranic proofs: He cites the general warning in Surat al-Tawbah against withholding zakat on gold and silver: وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلَا يُنْفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ("And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah—give them tidings of a painful punishment"), arguing that any precious metal on which dues are unpaid falls under the definition of hoarded wealth (kanz).
  • Hadith evidence: He presents several traditions, including the warning of punishment for owners of unpurified gold and silver in Sahih Muslim, the narration of Amr ibn Shu'ayb concerning the woman whose daughter wore two thick gold bangles, Aisha's report concerning silver rings, and Umm Salama's inquiry about gold ornaments.
  • Critique of opposing evidence: He addresses the narration ليس في الحلي زكاة ("There is no zakat on jewelry"), citing al-Bayhaqi's assessment that it is unauthentic as a prophetic hadith, correctly attributed only as a statement of Jabir ibn Abd Allah, and impaired by the weakness and obscurity of its transmitter Afiyah ibn Ayyub.
  • Rebuttal of legal analogy: He refutes the analogy drawn by some scholars between wearable jewelry and lawful garments, stating that precious metals are inherently subject to zakat by explicit scripture, unlike ordinary clothing or service animals.

Thresholds and Practical Rulings

The treatise outlines the criteria for calculating zakat on jewelry:

  • Nisab: Zakat is due only when the net weight of precious metal reaches twenty dinars for gold or two hundred dirhams for silver, with a prescribed rate of one-fortieth (2.5%).
  • Precious stones: Inlaid pearls, gems, or stones are excluded from weight calculations and are exempt from zakat unless held as trade merchandise.
  • Weight standards: Ibn Uthaymin notes the majority view defining the dinar and dirham by specific classical weights (one dinar equaling a mithqal), alongside Ibn Taymiyya's view interpreting them according to customary local currency measures, while recommending caution.

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