Is zakat obligatory on a wife's gold kept for adornment that is mortgaged for a debt? And is it thereby considered trade goods? If it is obligatory, how is its value estimated for zakat, and is the hawl (one-year period) calculated retroactively from the intention to sell, or from the moment of the mortgage?

The husband taking gold from his wife has three possibilities:

1. As an agent to sell it and then borrow its price: As long as the gold has not yet been sold, it remains the property of the wife. If the wife intends to sell it and changes her mind about wearing it, then zakat (definition) becomes obligatory on her for it, and zakat becomes obligatory on gold even if it has not actually been sold, provided it reaches the nisab (definition). If she has not paid zakat for previous years, she must pay it now, and it does not lapse with the passage of time.

2. As a gift from the wife to the husband: In this case, the gold becomes the property of the husband.

3. As a loan to the husband, to be returned in kind: In this case, the gold also becomes the property of the husband upon his taking possession of it.

In the latter two cases (gift or loan), zakat becomes obligatory on the husband if the gold reaches the nisab by itself or when combined with other assets. This gold is considered an acquired asset, so its hawl (zakat year) begins from the date it enters the husband's possession. The husband can combine this gold with other wealth he owns that has reached the nisab and on which a hawl has passed, and pay zakat on all of it when the hawl of the first asset is complete. However, if zakat is obligatory on the husband because he is the owner, he can deduct the amount of the debt from the wealth subject to zakat if he does not have other surplus wealth to meet the debt. Pledging does not prevent the obligation of zakat according to the majority of scholars, and this is the most preponderant opinion.