Yesterday I was eating lunch with my cousin and we got to talking about weddings and jewelry. We came to a problem that a lot of girls in our communities today are facing: to pay zakaat or not to pay zakaat, that is the question.

It seems like there is a lot confusion about whether or not jewelry that is not being used is part of wealth that needs to have zakaat paid on it. It is unclear what type of wealth it is categorized under: is unworn jewelry part of a regular collection that just isn’t worn often, or it is part of wealth that we hoard for its value?

I told my cousin I thought that if someone has a lot of jewelry, and she just doesn’t have any oppurtunities to wear it, and she does wear it as much as possible, I don’t think she has to pay zakaat on it. But my cousin thought that a lot girls are told by their parents or family members that well after you’re done wearing your jewelry, you should keep it around because it’s a good investment. So in this case, it is kept as a treasure.

Well then, I had a question: why do all these girls have so much jewelry in the first place?

And so we came to the root of the problem: so many Muslim girls are given a ton of jewelry during the time of a wedding. And clearly it’s more jewelry than they know what do with. And because girls have all this jewelry laying around, literally collecting dust in a jewelry box, we have this new situation on our hand. We’re unsure of if we should be paying zakaat on it.

The reason why I think this is such a confusing question to answer is because I just think it isn’t in the Muslim tradition to spend so lavishly. In Islam we are told it is best to handle our wealth with moderation, not extravagance. And especially in the case of jewelry we are told not to hoard it and keep it around for its value. The Qur’an says,

JewelryAnd those who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah,–announce unto them a painful torment. On the day when that will be heated in the fire of hell and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, (and it will be said unot them): “This is the treasure which you hoarded for yourselves. Now taste what you used to hoard” (at-Tawbah: 34-35)

Why is it, in our culture, that we feel the need to literally cover brides in jewelry and then create these situations of confusion to deal with? Why is it necessary to buy so many sets of jewelry, one in antique gold, one in yellow gold, one with rubies to go with red outfits, one with sapphires to go with blue outfits, one with emeralds to go with green outfits ,maybe some with white stones or purple stones or black stones. One set for every color of the rainbow.

It isn’t a necessity, no matter how you try to justify it. If you want to give or recieve a set of jewelry during the time of a wedding, get one or two simple sets that can be worn on a regular basis. This will eliminate the confusion of whether or not to pay zakaat on it later, because it’ll be an amount that you can manage.

Let’s all try our best in the future to keep things simple for ourselves at our own weddings. And if your own wedding has passed, then for the next generation, insha’Allah.

As for whether or not one has to pay Zakaat on your jewelry, ask your Imam or a Shaykh for your specific situation, and you can also check out this fatwa from IslamToday.