Zakah made simple
Who pays, the nisab, what counts and what doesn't, a worked UK example, and who can receive it.
10 minute read · SunnahPanda
Zakah is the third pillar of Islam: a fixed share of your wealth, given once a year to people Allah has named in the Qur'an. The word means both purification and growth. It purifies what you keep and, Allah promises, makes it grow.
Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them to grow.
Who has to pay
- A Muslim who owns wealth at or above the nisab, the minimum threshold.
- Once that wealth has been owned for a full lunar year (the hawl), about 354 days.
- Wealth fully yours to use, not money you are only holding for someone else.
Children's savings
The Hanafi school holds that zakah is not due on the wealth of a child or someone who lacks sanity. The Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools hold it is due, and the guardian pays it from that wealth. If your children have savings accounts, check which view your family follows.
The nisab
The nisab comes from the hadith: 20 mithqal of gold and 200 dirhams of silver. In today's measures that is about 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver. Because silver is far cheaper, the silver nisab is usually only a few hundred pounds, while the gold nisab is several thousand.
Gold or silver nisab?
For someone who owns only gold, the gold nisab applies. For cash, savings and mixed wealth, scholars differ: many, including most UK zakah collectors, recommend the silver nisab because more people pay and the poor benefit more; others use gold. Check the day's gold and silver price when you calculate, since the nisab moves with it.
What counts
| Wealth | Zakah due? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and bank balances | Yes | Current accounts, savings and cash at home, in any currency. |
| Gold and silver | Yes, see jewellery below | Coins, bars and anything held as savings. |
| Business stock | Yes | Valued at what it would sell for today. |
| Shares and funds | Usually | Shares bought to trade: their full value. Long-term holdings: scholars differ, so ask. |
| Money owed to you | Yes, if you expect it back | Loans you've made that will be repaid. |
| Your home, car, clothes and furniture | No | Personal-use items are exempt. |
| Tools and premises of a business | No | Only the stock and the cash are counted. |
| Pensions | Depends | Depends on whether you can access the money. Contemporary scholars differ; ask. |
Swipe the table to see every column →
| Hanafi | Maliki | Shafi'i | Hanbali | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold and silver jewellery worn regularly | Zakah due | No zakah | No zakah | No zakah |
| Deducting your debts | Deducted | Deducted from cash, gold and silver | Not deducted | Deducted |
Swipe the table to see every column →
Mortgages and long-term loans
Deducting a whole 25-year mortgage would wipe out most people's zakah. Many contemporary scholars allow deducting only what is due in the coming year, or only what is already due. Ask which approach your teacher follows.
Working it out
- 1
Pick your zakah date
The date you first owned the nisab, in the Islamic calendar. Many people use 1 Ramadan or 27 Ramadan to make it easy to remember.
- 2
Add up what counts
On that date, total your cash, savings, gold and silver, investments, business stock and money owed to you.
- 3
Take off debts due now
Subtract bills and debts that are due, following your school's view.
- 4
Compare with the nisab
If what's left is at or above the nisab, zakah is due on all of it, not just the part above the nisab.
- 5
Pay 2.5%
That is one fortieth: divide by 40. People who use the solar calendar for their zakah year often use 2.577% to account for the longer year.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Savings account | £8,000 |
| Current account | £1,500 |
| Gold coins held as savings | £3,000 |
| A loan to a friend, due back next month | £500 |
| Credit card bill due now | −£700 |
| Total zakatable wealth | £12,300 |
| Zakah at 2.5% | £307.50 |
Swipe the table to see every column →
£12,300 is well above the silver nisab, so zakah is due on the whole amount, not just the part above the threshold.
Who can receive it
The Qur'an names eight categories (at-Tawbah 9:60): the poor; the needy; those employed to collect and distribute zakah; those whose hearts are being brought towards Islam; freeing captives; people in debt; in the cause of Allah; and the stranded traveller.
- You cannot give your zakah to your parents, grandparents, children or grandchildren, since you are already responsible for them.
- A husband cannot give his zakah to his wife. Many scholars, though not the Hanafis, allow a wife to give hers to a husband in need, based on the hadith of Zaynab, the wife of Ibn Mas'ud (Sahih al-Bukhari 1466).
- Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins in need can receive it, and some scholars say they are the best recipients.
- The majority of scholars hold zakah should go to Muslims, while general sadaqah can go to anyone.
Good to know
Giving through a UK charity? Check it runs a zakah-specific fund and spends it only on the eight categories. Reputable ones publish a zakah policy.
Spotted something that needs correcting, or follow a different view? We want these guides to be right. Get in touch and we'll take a look.