salaam , Is zakat due for a girl who has inherited sufficent amount of jewllery from mother but has no means to pay the zakat given that my whole family is under massive debt . i am single and depedant upon my father. also zakat was not paid for several years due to poor financial situation of the family so can i just pay if its due for just one year or all the years zakat was not paid on my jewllery as my father used to pay zakat on my jewllery on my behalf before the financial problem arised a couple of years ago .

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. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

We have already explained in Fatwa 89106 the difference of opinion among the scholars about the jewellery which is purchased for adornment and use; some of them are of the view that it is an obligation to pay Zakat on it, while others are of the opinion that it is not an obligation. 

However, if you want to pay Zakat on your jewellery as a means of being on the safe side, and in order to meet the need of the poor, and adopt the view of the scholars who are of the opinion that it is an obligation to pay Zakat on it, then you should pay Zakat on all the previous years for which you did not pay Zakat, provided the jewellery reaches the minimum amount liable for Zakat, which is 85 gms of gold and a complete lunar year should have elapsed on it since inheriting it.

It should be noted that the jewellery and other properties which the mother left should be divided among all the heirs according to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet . The jewellery is not only restricted to the daughter if there are other heirs unless they renounce their rights.

For more benefit on paying the Zakat on previous years, please refer to Fatwa 87362.

Finally, it should be noted that if your father is indebted and unable to pay his debts, then it is permissible for you to pay the Zakat on gold to him so that he may repay his debts.

An-Nawawi said: ''It is permissible for one to pay Zakat to his children or parents from the share of "those employed to collect (the funds)," the "slaves who seek a writing (of emancipation)," and "for those in debt"."

Ash-Shaafi'ee said: "If one's mother or child (who is pubescent) is indebted, and is in need, or that it is the father who is in debt, then they may be given from the share reserved for those in debt."

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 85910. 

Allaah Knows best.