Zakat al-Athman
- Author died
- 1440 AH
- Editions
- Safir Press
Zakat al-Athman (Zakat on Monetary Assets) is a concise legal treatise on the jurisprudence of zakat on gold, silver, and modern currencies, authored by the Saudi scholar Saeed bin Ali bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
The work bears the full title Zakat al-Athman: al-Dhahab, wa-al-Fiddah, wa-al-Umlat al-Madaniyyah wa-al-Waraqiyyah fi Daw' al-Kitab wa-al-Sunnah (Zakat on Monetary Assets: Gold, Silver, and Metallic and Paper Currencies in the Light of the Book and the Sunnah) . The author completed the text on the evening of Sunday, 15 Rabi' al-Awwal 1426 AH in Riyadh . It was written as a concise reference examining the legal definitions, conditions, thresholds, and modern applications of zakat on monetary values according to scriptural evidence .
Scope and Contents
The treatise outlines the legal rulings pertaining to monetary zakat across several focused topics:
- Definition and obligation: It establishes the linguistic and technical definitions of al-athman (monetary assets) and demonstrates the obligation of zakat on gold and silver through the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus (ijma) .
- Minimum thresholds (nisab): It details the nisab for silver (200 dirhams / 140 mithqals) and gold (20 dinars / 20 mithqals), providing modern gram conversions based on empirical weight tests conducted by the author in Riyadh using medium barley grains on jeweler scales .
- Modern currencies and combination of assets: It covers zakat on circulating paper and metallic money, the ruling on combining gold and silver to reach the minimum threshold, and combining commercial merchandise (urud al-tijarah) with gold or silver to complete the nisab .
- Rates and calculation: It explains the mandatory rate of zakat on precious metals and currencies—one-quarter of one-tenth (2.5%)—and provides practical mathematical formulas for calculating payments, along with the ruling on paying zakat of one metal or currency in place of another .
- Rulings on ornaments and vessels: It outlines what gold and silver is lawful for men and women, reiterates the categorical prohibition of gold and silver utensils for both sexes, and addresses zakat on jewelry . It notes the consensus on the obligation of zakat on unlawful jewelry and jewelry held as trade merchandise, then analyzes the disagreement among jurists regarding permissible jewelry kept for personal use, citing textual proofs, companion reports, and verdicts from both classical and contemporary scholars, including fatwas of the Standing Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta .
- Recipients of zakat: The book concludes with a discussion of the eight categories of eligible zakat recipients (masarif al-zakat) and the categories of individuals to whom zakat cannot validly be given .
Method and Sources
The author relies on scriptural proofs from the Quran and the Prophetic hadith traditions, accompanied by citations of classical legal authorities such as Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Qudamah . Throughout the treatise, al-Qahtani frequently adopts and builds upon the legal verifications and preferred opinions of his teacher, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz .
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