You have gold jewelry sitting in a drawer. Or a few gold coins you bought as an investment. Maybe a silver set inherited from your parents. Are any of these subject to zakat? The answer depends on what type of gold or silver it is, how much you have, and which school of Islamic law you follow.
Gold and silver are among the original assets on which zakat was explicitly obligated in Islamic law. The rules are well-established. Where confusion arises is around jewelry, mixed assets, and how to handle fluctuating precious metal prices. This guide covers all of it.
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The nisab thresholds for gold and silver
Zakat on gold becomes obligatory when your gold holdings reach or exceed the nisab: approximately 87.48 grams of gold. Zakat on silver becomes obligatory when silver holdings reach approximately 612 grams. These are the figures most commonly cited in contemporary Islamic finance scholarship, though different madhabs use slightly different values. The Hanafi school, for example, uses 87.48 grams of gold and 612.36 grams of silver. Other schools round slightly differently.
Because gold and silver prices fluctuate daily, the dollar value of the nisab changes constantly. Use the HalalWallet zakat calculator to check the current nisab value before calculating what you owe. At the time of your hawl (the completion of one lunar year of ownership), you look up the market price and multiply your holdings accordingly.
How to calculate zakat on gold and silver
The calculation is the same as for most zakatable assets: 2.5% of the total value at the time of payment. If you own 100 grams of gold, you calculate the current market value of 100 grams and pay 2.5% of that. If gold is trading at $90 per gram, your gold is worth $9,000 and your zakat is $225.
You use the market value of the metal itself, not what you originally paid for it or what you think it might be worth. If the price has gone up since you bought it, you pay on the current value. If it has gone down, you pay on the lower current value.
The jewelry question: is worn gold zakatable?
This is where scholars disagree, and it matters practically because many Muslim women in the U.S. hold significant amounts of gold in the form of jewelry received at marriage or inherited from family.
The Hanafi school holds that all gold jewelry is zakatable regardless of whether it is worn or stored. This means a woman who regularly wears gold jewelry above the nisab threshold owes 2.5% of its value annually. The Hanafi opinion is the majority view among South Asian Muslim communities, which represent a large portion of U.S. Muslims.
The Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools hold that gold or silver jewelry worn regularly for personal use is exempt from zakat. The reasoning is that jewelry in personal use is analogous to clothing or a home: an asset consumed through use rather than preserved for wealth accumulation. Under this view, only stored or unused jewelry is zakatable.
The practical guidance: follow your madhab. If you follow the Hanafi school, all gold above nisab is zakatable, full stop. If you follow the other schools, jewelry you wear regularly for personal use is likely exempt, but jewelry sitting unused in storage is zakatable under all four schools.
Gold held as investment
Gold coins, gold bars, gold ETFs, and any gold held specifically as a store of wealth or investment is zakatable under all four schools with no disagreement. It does not matter whether the gold is physical or held through a financial instrument. If you own shares in a gold ETF, the underlying gold value counts toward your zakatable assets. If you hold gold bullion, its market value at your hawl date is zakatable at 2.5%.
Combining gold, silver, cash, and other assets
Zakat is calculated on your total wealth, not on each asset category separately. If your gold alone is below nisab but your total zakatable assets (gold, silver, cash, investments, inventory) combined exceed the nisab threshold, you owe zakat on all of it. You do not need to reach a separate nisab for each asset type.
There is a further consideration: whether to use the gold nisab or the silver nisab to determine your threshold. Because silver has historically been cheaper per gram, the silver nisab typically translates to a lower dollar threshold. Using the silver nisab is more cautious and generally the preferred approach among scholars who want to be thorough in their zakat obligation. Using the gold nisab results in a higher dollar threshold before zakat is triggered.
What about gold-plated or white gold items?
Gold-plated items contain only a negligible amount of actual gold and are generally not included in zakat calculations. White gold is an alloy that contains actual gold, and the gold content is zakatable. If you own white gold jewelry above nisab and follow the Hanafi school, the gold content of that jewelry counts toward your zakatable gold. For the other schools, personal-use white gold jewelry follows the same rules as yellow gold.
Gold, silver, and your estate
If you hold significant gold or silver assets, they are part of your estate and should be accounted for in your Islamic will. Under Faraid, gold and silver are distributed as part of the gross estate after debts are paid. If you want to direct a portion of your precious metal holdings to charity as part of your wasiyyah bequest, our Islamic wills and estate planning guide covers how that works in a U.S.-valid document.
For pilgrims preparing for Hajj who are settling their zakat obligations before travel, the Hajj 2026 preparation checklist covers the full financial picture including zakat, debts, and estate documents.
Frequently asked questions
Does zakat apply to silver jewelry the same way as gold?
Yes. The same scholarly debate applies: the Hanafi school says all silver jewelry is zakatable; the majority schools say regularly worn personal-use silver jewelry is exempt. Investment silver and stored silver are zakatable under all schools. The nisab for silver is approximately 612 grams, which at current prices typically represents a lower dollar value than the gold nisab.
What if I inherited gold jewelry? Does the hawl restart?
If you inherit gold, a new hawl begins from the date you take possession. The year your relative passed is not your hawl. However, if you already had gold above nisab and the inheritance adds to it, the existing hawl continues for the original holdings and a new hawl starts for the inherited portion. Most scholars advise calculating conservatively: once total holdings are above nisab, track from that point forward.
Can I pay zakat on gold in cash rather than giving gold itself?
Yes. The scholarly consensus is that zakat can be paid in cash equivalent to the value of the zakatable asset. You do not need to hand over physical gold or silver. Calculate the value of 2.5% of your gold or silver holdings at current market rates and pay that amount in cash to eligible recipients or organizations.
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What if my gold jewelry was a wedding gift and I rarely wear it?
If you follow the Hanafi school, it is zakatable regardless of how rarely you wear it. If you follow the Maliki, Shafi'i, or Hanbali school, jewelry that is not regularly worn is more likely to be treated as stored wealth rather than personal-use jewelry, making it zakatable. The more it sits unworn in storage, the stronger the case that it is wealth rather than adornment, and the more scholars across all schools would lean toward zakat being owed.
