What is the amount of zakat due on gold, a portion of which was sold to pay off a debt, knowing that the original intention for the gold was for a trousseau (dowry) and not for sale, and is zakat obligatory on the wife or on both spouses together, given that they operate as a single financial entity?

The jewelry gifted to the wife by her father is not subject to zakat on its own because it is below the nisab (minimum threshold). The nisab for gold is eighty-five grams.

As for the jewelry (shabka) bought by the husband for her, if it is part of the mahr (dowry) or a gift from him and she has taken possession of it, then the gold becomes her property. When combined with what her father gifted her, her gold reaches the nisab.

If this gold is intended for adornment (as is usually the case with women's jewelry), then there is a difference of opinion among jurists regarding jewelry intended for adornment when it reaches the nisab: Is zakat obligatory on it or not? The majority of jurists say: Zakat is not obligatory on it. Some jurists say: Zakat is obligatory on it.

If she wishes to pay zakat on it, adopting the view of those who say zakat is obligatory, she should pay a quarter of a tenth (2.5%) of the total gold, either from the gold itself or from its market value. If the husband is indebted and unable to repay, she is permitted to give him the zakat from her gold.

If the shabka was not part of the mahr and was not a gift of which the wife took possession, then it remains the property of the husband, and there is no zakat on it either, because it is below the nisab, unless he possesses cash that completes the nisab. In that case, he should pay zakat on the gold and the cash combined, at a rate of a quarter of a tenth (2.5%).