The second view—reported from Imam Ahmad and held by Abu Hanifah—is that zakah is obligatory on gold and silver jewelry. They cited the following evidence:

1. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “There is no owner of gold or silver who does not pay its due except that, on the Day of Resurrection, plates of fire will be made for him and heated in the fire of Hell; then his side, forehead, and back will be branded with them. Whenever they cool, they will be reheated, on a day whose length is fifty thousand years, until judgment is passed between the servants. Then he will see his path, either to Paradise or to the Fire.” (1)

This is general in wording. A woman who possesses jewelry—whether it is silver or gold jewelry—is an owner of gold or silver. This general wording includes both jewelry and non-jewelry; whoever claims that jewelry is excluded from it must provide evidence.

2. The compilers of the Sunan narrated from Amr ibn Shuayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that “a woman came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, accompanied by her daughter, who wore two thick gold bangles on her hands. He said, ‘Do you pay zakah on these?’ She replied, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Would it please you if Allah were to adorn you with two bracelets of fire in their place?’ So she removed them and threw them to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.” (2)

Whoever regards the narration of Amr ibn Shuayb, from his father, from his grandfather, as defective on account of a break in its chain is mistaken, for leading scholars such as Ahmad and al-Bukhari,