As salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh
Dear Mufti Saheb
May Allah SWT bless you in abundance for the good work that you do. Please can you assist me with a masala relating to zakaat?
My mother had received gold jewellery as a gift from my paternal, step grandmother many years ago. The correct date cannot be determined as my grandmother has passed on and mother cannot remember in exactly which year it was given to her, but she thinks it was sometime in 1985. Zakaat has never been paid on these specific jewellery items as it was sent away for safekeeping and probably forgotten about. We now want to settle the outstanding zakaat for the past 27 years, but we are not sure how to go about it. Does zakaat have to be paid on the current value of the jewellery for every year since 1985, or do we have to obtain gold prices since 1985 and pay on those values? Also, does the payment of the zakaat have to be a lump sum amount or can it be paid off in monthly instalments?
Please assist if you are able to.
I apologise for taking up your valuable time with such trivial matters. Please forgive me.
Jazakallahu Ahsanul Jazaa
