Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
1905. There are two minimum taxable limits for silver:
The first is 105 ordinary mithqals, equal to 483.88 gms. Therefore, when
the quantity of silver reaches that limit, and other necessary conditions
are also fulfilled one should pay 2.5% of it as Zakat. And if the quantity
of silver does not reach the aforesaid limit, it is not obligatory to pay
Zakat on it.
The second limit of silver is when there is an addition of 21 mithqals,
that is, if an addition of 21 mithqals takes place to 105 mithqals, the Zakat
should be paid on 126 mithqals. If the addition is less than 21 mithqals he
should pay Zakat on 105 mithqals only, and no Zakat is payable on the
additional quantity.
The same rule applies as and when ongoing
additions take place in the quantity of silver, like, if 21 mithqals are
further added , he should pay Zakat on the entire quantity and if the
addition is less than that the quantity which has been added and is less
than 21 mithqals, is not liable to any Zakat.
Thus, if a person gives
1/40 of all the gold or silver he possesses, he will have paid the
obligatory Zakat, and sometimes even more than that. For example, if a
person has 110 mithqals of silver and gives 2.5% of that, he will have paid
Zakat on 105 mithqals which was obligatory, and also sometimes on 5 mithqals
which was not obligatory.
1906. If a person possesses gold or silver which has reached the
taxable limit, and even if he has paid Zakat on it, he should continue to pay
Zakat on it every year, as long as it does not reduce from the minimum limit.
1907. Zakat on gold and silver becomes obligatory only when they are
made into coins, and are in currency for transactions. Zakat should, however, be
paid on them even if their stamp has been effaced.
1908. It is obligatory, as a precaution, to pay Zakat on coined gold
and silver worn by women as ornaments, as long as such coins are legal tenders,
that is, transactions are made with them as gold and silver currency. It is not,
obligatory to pay Zakat on them if they have ceased to be legal tenders.
1909. If a person possesses gold and silver neither of which is equal
to the first minimum limit, for example, if he has 104 mithqals of silver and 19
mithqals of gold, it is not obligatory for him to pay Zakat.
1910. As stated earlier, Zakat on gold and silver becomes obligatory
only when its taxable quantity is owned by a person for 11 months continuously.
If, therefore, the quantity falls below the taxable limit at any time during the
period of 11 months, it is not obligatory for him to pay Zakat on them.
1911. If during the period of 11 months, a person who possesses gold
and silver exchanges them for something else, or melts them, it is not
obligatory for him to pay Zakat on them. However, if he changes them from coins
to plain gold or silver, to avoid payment of Zakat, the obligatory precaution is
that he should pay Zakat.
1912. If a person melts gold and silver coins in the twelfth month, he
should pay Zakat on them, and if their weight or value is reduced because of
melting, he should pay Zakat which was obligatory on those coins before they
were melted.
1913. If gold and silver possessed by a person is partly of superior
quality and partly of inferior quality, he can pay Zakat of each from its
respective quality. But, as a precaution, he should not pay entire Zakat based
on the inferior quality. In fact, it is better that he should give the entire
Zakat based on the gold and silver of superior quality.
1914. If gold and silver coins have more than usual quantity of alloy,
but if they are still known as gold and silver coins, payment of Zakat on them
is obligatory if they have reached the taxable limit, although in their pure
form they may not reach the taxable limit. But, if they are not called gold and
silver coins, liability of Zakat on them is a matter of Ishkal, even if in their
pure form they may reach the taxable limit.
1915. If gold and silver coins have usual amount of alloy in them, he
can pay Zakat on them with gold and silver coins which contain more than usual
quantity of alloy, or with coins which are not made of gold and silver, provided
that its quantity equals the value of Zakat.