A wife giving her Zakah on Jewelry to her needy husband

Assalamu alaikum... My question is regarding zakat... I have taken home loan which is a mistake but now i don't have option. my question is... 1. I have to pay home loan EMI of 7500..rs monthly. what i think is home loan is debt on me.. and my wife has nearly 160 gram of gold and with calculation of 2.5 interest with 24000/10 i have to pay 9000 rs as zakat... 1. The gold is of my wife can she gave me zakat and which i can pay on EMI.. For gold almost all money was given by me. PLEASE TELL ME...Should i have to pay Zakat.. and if i skip one EMI for zakat than i have to pay more interest what should i do..? one year has not passed on few grams..what should i do? i don't have any extra money... waiting for your response.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad , is His Slave and Messenger.

First of all, we would like to say that we have already clarified in several Fataawa that the scholars of Fiqh have two different opinions regarding the obligation of Zakah on the jewelry prepared for adornment; and that the majority of scholars hold the opinion that it is not due, although it is better to give Zakah on it to be on the safe side, as clarified in Fatwa 83665 and Fatwa 82925. But if the gold is not made into jewelry or that it is jewelry not intended for use, then, Zakah becomes due on it without difference among the scholars.

In case Zakah is due, it is the wife who is required to pay it so long as the gold is in her possession, and the husband is not required to pay it on her behalf, since Zakah is binding on the owner of the property on which Zakah is due. But if the husband pays it on behalf of his wife with her permission, then it is acceptable.

On the other hand, it is permissible for the wife to give her Zakah to her husband if he is one of those eligible to receive it, e.g. to be in debt and unable to pay his debt or poor or needy. For further information, see Fatwa 81677 about the fact that it is permissible for the wife to give the Zakah due on her wealth to her husband.

As for the questioner’s taking a loan to buy a house, if the loan is based on Riba (usury), as it appears from the question, then it is due on him to repent to Allaah The Almighty, show regret for what he has done, and determine not to do that again in the future. Also, it is impermissible for him to pay the usurious interest. He should only pay the original debt unless he is forced to pay this usurious interest. For further information, please refer to Fataawa 86136 and 86527.

Allaah Knows best.