What zakat is

Islam stands on five pillars. The first is the shahada, the second is salah, and the third is zakat¹.

Zakat is a set share of your wealth that you must give each year to people Allah has named. It is not a gift you choose to make. It is a duty, like salah. The Quran puts the two side by side again and again: pray, and give zakat².

• The word zakat means two things: to make clean, and to grow. Allah told Nabi ﷺ: take from their wealth a charity to clean them and make them grow³.
• It is the right of the poor. Allah describes the believers as people in whose wealth there is a known right, for those who ask and those in need⁴. So the zakat part of your money was never really yours to keep.
• It goes from the rich to the poor. When Nabi ﷺ sent Mu'adh to Yemen, he told him to teach the people that zakat is taken from the rich among them and given to their poor⁵.
• It does not make you poorer. Nabi ﷺ said: charity does not decrease wealth⁶.

Zakat on wealth is also called zakat al-mal. It is different from zakat al-fitr, the small gift for each person before the Eid prayer at the end of Ramadan. This chapter is about zakat al-mal.

Why it matters so much

Zakat was so important that, after Nabi ﷺ died, some tribes said they would pray but not pay zakat. Abu Bakr, the first khalifah, refused to accept this. He said: I will stand against anyone who separates salah and zakat, because zakat is the right owed on wealth⁷.

The Quran and the sunnah also give a clear warning for people who hold zakat back. We share it gently, not to scare you, but so you see how much Allah cares about the poor:

• Allah speaks of people who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in His way. On the Day of Judgement, that same wealth will be heated and used to brand them⁸.
• Allah says: those who hold back what He gave them should not think it is good for them. It is bad for them. What they held back will be wrapped around their necks⁹.
• Nabi ﷺ said: wealth whose zakat was not paid will come on the Day of Judgement as a huge snake. It will wrap around its owner and say: I am your wealth, I am your treasure¹⁰.

The other side is just as clear. Pay what you owe, and everything left is clean and blessed, and fully yours. Islam has no problem with wealth earned in a halal way. It only asks that the poor get their share.

Who must pay zakat

Zakat is due from a person when all of these are true:

• You are a Muslim. Zakat is an act of worship, so it is only due from Muslims.
• You fully own the wealth. It is yours, and you can use it. Money you are only holding for someone else is not yours to pay zakat on.
• It reaches the nisab (the minimum amount). Below the nisab, no zakat is due. See the next sections.
• It is more than your basic needs. The home you live in, your car, furniture, clothes and the tools of your work are not counted.
• A full lunar year has passed on it. Nabi ﷺ said: there is no zakat on wealth until a year has passed on it¹¹.

Men and women are the same here. A wife's money is her own, and she pays zakat on her own wealth, not her husband. He may pay it for her if she agrees.

Children, and people whose mind is not sound

What if a child, or someone with a serious mental illness, owns money above the nisab? The schools differ:

• Hanafis: zakat is not due on their wealth, because they are not yet required to do acts of worship. A child starts their own year once they reach puberty.
• Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis: zakat is due, because it is a right on the wealth itself. The guardian pays it from the child's money each year.

If you look after a child's money, follow your school, or ask a scholar you trust.

Money you owe: does it lower your zakat?

Many people have debts: a credit card, a loan, rent that is due. The schools differ here too:

• Hanafis and Hanbalis: take your debts off first. Then see if what is left reaches the nisab.
• Malikis: debts are taken off your money, gold and silver, but not off crops or animals.
• Shafi'is: debts do not lower your zakat. You pay on all you own.

Big long loans, like a mortgage: most scholars today say do not take off the whole loan. Take off only what is due now, or due in the coming year, such as this year's payments. Our Zakat calculator works this way.

The nisab: the minimum amount

The nisab is the smallest amount of wealth on which zakat is due. If what you have is less, you owe no zakat. You can still give sadaqah (voluntary charity), and it is always rewarded.

Nabi ﷺ set the nisab in gold and in silver: 20 dinars of gold, or 200 dirhams of silver¹². He also said: there is no zakat on less than five awaq of silver¹³. Five awaq is 200 dirhams. Today we measure these by weight:

Some bodies, especially Hanafi ones, use 87.48 g and 612.36 g, from a slightly bigger old weight. The difference is small. Follow the figure your local masjid or zakat body uses.

Gold or silver for cash?

Long ago, 85 g of gold and 595 g of silver were worth about the same. Today silver is worth far less. So the silver nisab is much lower than the gold one. This matters for anyone whose savings are in cash:

• Many scholars today advise the silver nisab for cash. More people pay zakat, and more reaches the poor. Hanafis also teach: use the measure that is better for the poor.
• Other scholars use the gold nisab. They say it is closer to what the nisab was worth in the time of Nabi ﷺ, and the silver one is now so low that it can catch people who are not really well off.

Both views have their scholars. Follow your local masjid or a scholar you trust. If you are unsure, the silver nisab is the safer choice for your zakat and kinder to the poor.

Adding different things together

You do not look at each account on its own. On your zakat date, add up all your zakat wealth: cash in every account, money at home, gold and silver, shares, goods you hold to sell, and money owed to you that you expect back. If the total reaches the nisab, zakat is due on the total.

Modern things like pensions, a 401k or ISA, shares, crypto and rental property are explained in the next chapters of this part. Scholars today differ on some of them. For large sums, ask a scholar you trust.

The year: hawl

Zakat is due once a hawl has passed. Hawl means a full year, and it is a lunar (Islamic) year, about 354 days¹⁴.

Pick one zakat date

Nobody tracks the year of every dollar. The easy way, used by most people:

• Your year starts on the day your savings first reached the nisab.
• That date, by the Islamic calendar, becomes your zakat date. Do not know the exact day? Choose a date close to it, and keep it every year.
• On that date each year, add up what you have and pay 2.5 percent¹⁵. Write the date down.
• Many people keep their date in Ramadan, because good deeds then are greatly rewarded. That is fine, as long as you do not push it later than your real date.

If you use the normal (solar) calendar: it is about 11 days longer than the lunar year. Some scholars today say pay a little more, about 2.577 percent, to make up for it. Using the Islamic date is simplest.

Money that comes in during the year

• Hanafis: new money, like salary or a gift, joins your savings. It is counted on your zakat date, even if it came last week.
• The other three schools: new money has its own year. But paying early is allowed (see below). So most people simply count everything on their one date. It is simpler, and it gives more to the poor.

When savings drop below the nisab during the year

Say you reached the nisab in Muharram. Then in Rajab you had a big bill, and your savings fell below it for a while. The schools differ:

• Hanafis: only the start and the end of the year matter. If you are at or above the nisab on both days, you pay. A dip in the middle does not matter, unless your savings fell to nothing at all. Then the year starts again.
• Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis: you must stay at or above the nisab the whole year. If you fell below, the year stops. A new year starts on the day you reach the nisab again.

Follow your school or your local masjid.

Paying it: early, late, and with the right intention

How much

On money, gold, silver and trade goods, zakat is 2.5 percent, one fortieth¹⁶. All four schools agree. For example, if your total is 10,000, your zakat is 250.

Paying early

• Al-Abbas, the uncle of Nabi ﷺ, asked to pay his zakat before its year was over, and Nabi ﷺ allowed him¹⁷¹⁸.
• Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow paying early, once you own the nisab. So you may pay in parts through the year, for example every month, and settle the rest on your zakat date.
• Malikis allow it only a short time before the date, about a month.

Paying late

• Once your zakat date comes, pay it soon. It is the right of the poor, and they are waiting.
• Holding it back without a reason is a sin. A short wait for a real reason, like having no access to your money yet, or finding a family member in need, is different. If unsure, ask a scholar.

The intention

• Nabi ﷺ said: actions are judged by intentions¹⁹. Zakat needs the intention that this is my zakat.
• Make the intention when you give it, or when you set the money aside for zakat. It is in the heart. You do not need to say it out loud.
• You do not have to tell the person receiving it that it is zakat. Scholars say this can spare their feelings.

Giving quietly or openly

Allah says: if you give charity openly, that is good. But if you keep it secret and give it to the poor, that is better for you²⁰. One of the seven people shaded by Allah on the Day of Judgement gives charity so quietly that his left hand does not know what his right hand gave²¹.

Many scholars say: for voluntary charity, quiet is best. For zakat, giving openly is also fine, and it can encourage others to pay. Either way, guard your heart from showing off.

Zakat from past years

• Zakat you did not pay stays a debt. It does not go away with time. Nabi ﷺ said: a debt to Allah has more right to be paid²².
• Work out each missed year as well as you can. If you do not know the exact amounts, make an honest guess, and lean on the side of paying a little more.
• Pay it as soon as you can. If it is a large amount, you may pay it in parts. Make tawbah (turn back to Allah) if you held it back on purpose. Allah forgives the one who returns.

Common questions

My savings dropped below the nisab for two months, then went back up. Do I still pay on my zakat date?

Hanafis: yes, if you are at or above the nisab on your zakat date, and your savings never fell to zero. Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis: no, the year started again on the day you went back above the nisab. Follow your school or your local masjid.

I just became Muslim. Do I owe zakat for the years before?

No. Zakat is only due from Muslims, and Islam wipes out what came before²³. Your first year starts on the day you became Muslim, if your savings were at the nisab then. Mark that date, and pay on it next year.

My husband and I share a joint account. Whose zakat is it?

Each person pays on their own share. Agree between you how much of the account belongs to each of you. Add your share to your other savings, and see if your total reaches the nisab. One of you may pay for the other, with their agreement.

I forgot to pay zakat for three years. What now?

Do not panic, and do not give up. Work out each year in order, as well as you can. Many scholars say the zakat you owed for year one counts as a debt, so take it off before you work out year two. Then pay the total, in parts if you need to. The Zakat calculator can help with each year.

Can I pay my zakat in Ramadan, even though my date is in Shawwal?

Yes. That is paying early, which most scholars allow. Malikis allow it only about a month before. Paying later than your date, just to wait for Ramadan, is not the same. Do not delay it.

Can I pay a little every month instead of once a year?

Yes, by Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis. Each month counts as paying early. On your zakat date, add it up and pay whatever is still owed.