Is It Permissible to Own Silver Items for Both Use and Investment?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

Is it permissible to own and use silver items for both use and investment?

Answer

I pray you are well.

Owning Silver

It is permissible to own silver without restriction. There is no issue in possessing silver in any quantity. However, one must ensure that zakat is paid on it when it becomes due. As long as zakat is fulfilled properly, owning silver is perfectly permissible.

This applies whether the silver is kept as wealth, stored, or held for investment purposes.

Using Silver

Using silver is a separate matter. The direct use of silver items is not permitted. This applies to items such as silver cutlery, just as it applies to gold, though silver cutlery is more commonly encountered.

One may not eat with a silver fork or use similar utensils. This is considered direct use and is not permissible.

The Hanafi Distinction Regarding Indirect Use

In the Hanafi school, a distinction is made between direct and indirect usage.

For example, if someone had a silver container with oil in it and poured the oil directly onto their head to rub into their hair, this would not be permissible, as it constitutes direct use of the silver.

However, if the oil were poured into the hand first and then applied to the head using the hand, this would be permissible. In this case, the silver is merely transferring the substance, and there is no direct usage of the silver itself.

Thus, ownership is unrestricted, but direct usage is not allowed.

Silver as an Investment

As an investment, owning silver is permissible, provided zakat is paid when due.

It should be noted, however, that silver’s value has depreciated significantly over time and is not worth as much as some might assume.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr. Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.