asa.for my marriage my parents gave me 480gms of gold as dowry and i was given 56gms as mahar by my husband.for the past 6 months about 240gms is kept in abank for loan.the only gold i use weighs about 104gms including my mahar.can u pls explain the amount i should pay as zakat and whether it should be in the form of money or gold itself.will the mahar also include in paying zakat.should one pay zakat for the gold which she doesnot use but is kept idle at home.thank you

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If you use the gold that is in your possession for adornment, then there is a difference of opinion among the jurists about whether or not it is obligatory to pay Zakah on it; the view of the majority of the scholars is that it is not an obligation to pay Zakah on it. In Islamweb, we adopt the view of the majority of the scholars. However, some other scholars are of the view that Zakah must be paid on it.

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that paying Zakah on jewelry that is used for adornment is better in order to be on the safe side and avoid the difference of opinion; for more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 87362.

Furthermore, it is an obligation to pay Zakah on gold if it reaches 85 grams or more and a whole lunar year elapses over it; it is only then that it becomes obligatory to pay Zakah on it, which is 2.5% of the gold itself. That is to say that in principle Zakah on gold must be paid from the gold itself meaning 2.5 grams from every 100 grams as discussed in Fatwa 81332.

However, if you want to pay its value instead of paying it from the gold itself, then this is permissible, but in this case, you should take into consideration the market price of gold at the time of Zakah being due, so you should pay out the value of 2.5% from the entire gold. The ruling that we mentioned about jewelry used for adornment applies to all the gold that you have whether this gold is a dowry or else.

On the other hand, we would like to remind you that if the bank where you mortgaged your gold in return for a loan does not deal with Riba (interest and/or usury), then it is permissible for you to deal with it and mortgage your gold or anything else with it until you repay the loan which you owe to this bank. However, if the bank deals with Riba, then it is not permissible to deal with it as there is a severe warning against those who consume Riba. Allaah Says (what means): {O you who have believed, fear Allaah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers. And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allaah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may have your principal-[thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.} [Quran 2:278-279]

Moreover, the Prophet said: “Allaah has cursed the one who consumes Riba (i.e. usury or interest), the one who gives it to others, the one who records it and the one who witnesses it (its transaction).” He said: “All of them are equal in sin.” [Muslim]

Allaah Knows best.