Q.1. On my marriage, I gave my wife some jewelry which she now wears on occasions, but most of the time it remains in my bank locker. Should I pay zakah for this? And how much?
Q.2. I have bought some shares in India and registered them in my father’s name. He gets a pension which is not sufficient for his living expenses. I help as much as I can. What is the position concerning zakah for such shares? Is it his responsibility or mine?
Q.3. Can I pay my zakah to my brother who is a student and depends on my father for his living expenses?
M. Ahmad, Hail
A.1. The very question is wrong. If you have given your wife a gift, it belongs to her. You have nothing to do with it. You cannot continue to look at it as your own property. Otherwise you have not given it to her. Suppose you have given your wife an apartment, and she rents it out: are you entitled to receive its rent, in whole or in part? If you do, then you are going back on your gift and this is far from acceptable. Islam has given women full legal status. A woman can own, and dispense with, her own property the way she likes, at the same level as a man. There is no difference between men and women on this count.
Thus, a woman is responsible for her own zakah. If she is liable to pay zakah, she should pay it from her own money. Her husband has no authority over her property, and no responsibility for discharging her liabilities. If he pays out some of her liabilities, it should be his own choice. It should be treated as a gift and a gesture of love and care.
If your wife keeps her jewelry in your bank safe, it may be a matter of convenience. It does not give you any ownership rights over the jewelry, even though you have given the jewelry to her. You cannot dispense with the jewelry at will, without your wife’s consent. In this case, zakah, if any, should be paid out by your wife not yourself. I can tell you that a woman’s personal jewelry held for her own personal use is not liable to zakah, as long as it remains within what is reasonable for women in her social status.
On the other hand, if you and your wife look at this jewelry as your own, and you only give your wife the chance to wear it when she wants, then it is part of your assets and it is liable to zakah when you pay out your zakah every year at the rate of 2.5 percent.
A.2. If you have registered the shares in your father’s name as a matter of convenience, and the two of you agree that the shares are your property, then you are liable to zakah on these. Every year, on your zakah date, you calculate the value of these shares on that day, and any dividends you may have received, and add it to the rest of your property to calculate your zakah liability.
On the other hand, if this is something you have given to your father as a gift, then it is his property and he is responsible for it. He pays its zakah.
A.3. You may pay your zakah to any relative who qualifies as a beneficiary of zakah, provided that you are not responsible for looking after that relative and supporting him or her. This means that you cannot pay your zakah to your wife, parents, grandparents, children or grandchildren. It is not your duty to look after your adult brother. Therefore, you may pay him your zakah, if he is poor. A student may be paid zakah if he is in poverty, or if he cannot pay his fees or buy his books. However, your father may not pay him his zakah.
