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Why zakat is obligatory, how it began, and worked calculations for every zakatable category — a full ebook you can keep offline.
- Why zakat is obligatory — Quran & Sunnah, verified
- How it began — Makkah to Madinah, Abu Bakr's stand
- Worked calculation examples, step by step
- The four-madhhab comparison table, in full
Nisab reference
Your assets
What makes zakat obligatory
Zakat is the third pillar of Islam, commanded by name dozens of times in the Quran, almost always paired with the command to pray: "And establish prayer and give zakah" (2:43, echoed at 2:110 and 98:5). Allah commands it be taken directly from wealth: "Take, [O Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase" (9:103), and names exactly who it's for — the poor, the needy, and six other categories — in 9:60. The Prophet ﷺ named it as one of the five foundations Islam is built on, alongside the shahada, prayer, fasting, and Hajj (Sahih al-Bukhari 8, Sahih Muslim 16).
Beyond simply being a Muslim, five conditions (shurut al-wujub) determine whether zakat is actually due on a given person's wealth in a given year:
1. Islam
Zakat is an act of worship specific to Muslims — it isn't asked of non-Muslims, and isn't valid as an act of worship from someone who hasn't testified the shahada.
2. Freedom
Classical fiqh, formed in a world with slavery, excluded the enslaved from the obligation since they don't hold independent wealth — a condition with no practical bearing today.
3. Full ownership (milk tam)
The wealth must genuinely be yours — in your possession and under your control — not, for example, money you're safekeeping for someone else, or (per the more accepted contemporary view) funds locked in an employer pension you cannot access. See zakat on retirement & pension funds.
4. Reaching the nisab
Your net qualifying wealth must be at or above the minimum threshold — conventionally 85g of gold or 595g of silver by value, most scholars recommending the silver figure since its lower value brings zakat to more of the poor (Sunan Abi Dawud 1573, graded sahih — a single narration setting both thresholds: 200 dirhams of silver and 20 dinars of gold). Full detail: What is the nisab?
5. Hawl — a full lunar year held
The wealth must remain at or above nisab for one full Hijri year before zakat is due on it: "I heard the Messenger of Allahﷺ say: 'There is not Zakat on wealth until Hawl (one year) has passed.'" (Sunan Ibn Majah 1792, narrated by Aisha رضي الله عنها — its individual chain is debated by some hadith scholars, but the hawl requirement itself is agreed upon by scholarly consensus). Ushr on agricultural produce is the one major exception — it's due at harvest, with no year-long wait. See agricultural produce below.
Who must pay — and the truth about age
There's no age written anywhere for zakat — it isn't like prayer or fasting, which classical fiqh ties to puberty (bulugh). Zakat is a tax on wealth, not on the person, so an adult owes it the moment their own qualifying wealth crosses nisab and a lunar year passes, whether they're 19 or 90.
Where age does become relevant is a genuinely different question: is a minor's own wealth zakatable at all, paid by a guardian on their behalf? The four schools disagree:
- Hanafi: No — puberty and sanity are conditions for zakat on wealth, so a minor's or an insane person's assets aren't zakatable until they mature.
- Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali (the majority): Yes — a minor's or unsound-minded person's wealth is zakatable every year it's due, with their guardian paying it out of that wealth, citing Umar ibn al-Khattab's own instruction: "Trade with the wealth of orphans so that it isn't consumed by zakat" (Muwatta Malik 17:12 — a report of Umar's own practice, not a Prophetic hadith).
Full discussion: At what age is zakat fard?
Everything that can be zakatable
This calculator only covers the most common case — cash, gold, silver, and business inventory, all at 2.5%. Islamic law recognizes several other categories of zakatable wealth, several with their own nisab and rate. Each one below links to a fuller answer.
Every zakatable category with its nisab (threshold), rate, and when it falls due. Details and evidences follow below.
A reference table of all types of zakat. Cash, savings and digital wallets: nisab is the value of 85 grams of gold (or 595 grams of silver), rate 2.5 percent, due after a full lunar year. Gold and silver: nisab 85 grams gold or 595 grams silver, 2.5 percent, after a year. Business trade inventory: nisab as gold or silver, 2.5 percent of market resale value, after a year. Stocks, crypto and debts owed to you: nisab as gold or silver, 2.5 percent, after a year. Livestock of camels, cattle, sheep and goats: nisab begins at 5 camels, 30 cattle, or 40 sheep, with a tiered rate ladder, after a year. Agricultural produce: nisab about 653 kilograms (five wasq), rate 10 percent if rain-irrigated or 5 percent if artificially irrigated, due at harvest not after a year. Rikaz, buried treasure and minerals: no nisab, 20 percent (a fifth), due immediately on discovery. Zakat al-Fitr: paid per person as about 2.5 kilograms of staple food, due before the Eid al-Fitr prayer.
| Type of wealth | Nisab (threshold) | Rate | When due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash, savings & digital wallets | Value of 85g gold (or 595g silver) | 2.5% | After 1 lunar year (ḥawl) |
| Gold & silver | 85g gold · 595g silver | 2.5% | After 1 lunar year |
| Business trade inventory | As gold/silver (on market value) | 2.5% | After 1 lunar year |
| Stocks, crypto & debts owed to you | As gold/silver | 2.5% | After 1 lunar year |
| Livestock (camels, cattle, sheep & goats) | From 5 camels / 30 cattle / 40 sheep | Tiered ladder | After 1 lunar year |
| Agricultural produce (ʿushr) | ≈ 653 kg (5 wasq) | 10% rain · 5% irrigated | At harvest |
| Rikāz (buried treasure & minerals) | None | 20% (khums) | Immediately on discovery |
| Zakat al-Fitr | Per person (a saʿ) | ≈ 2.5 kg staple food | Before the Eid al-Fitr prayer |
Cash, bank savings & digital wallets 2.5%
Treated the same as gold and silver — if your total across all accounts reaches nisab and stays there a full lunar year, 2.5% is due. Zakat on cash savings →
Gold & silver, including jewellery 2.5%
Gold and silver held as savings or investment are zakatable without dispute. Jewellery worn for personal use is where the schools split — see the madhhab table below. Gold jewellery → · Silver & gemstone jewellery →
Business trade inventory (urud al-tijarah) 2.5%
Merchandise held for resale is zakatable by the agreement of the overwhelming majority of scholars — Ibn al-Mundhir reported consensus — classically grounded in Quran 2:267: "O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned." A hadith of Samurah ibn Jundab, "the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to order us to pay the sadaqah on what we prepared for trade" (Sunan Abi Dawud 1562), is often cited too, though its chain is graded da'if (weak), so the ruling stands on the consensus and the verse rather than on that narration alone. Valued at current market resale price, not what you paid. Zakat on business inventory →
Livestock — camels, cattle, sheep & goats tiered
Its own detailed nisab and rate ladder, from the letter Abu Bakr as-Siddiq sent to zakat collectors detailing the Prophet's ﷺ instructions (Sahih al-Bukhari 1454). No zakat on camels below five; at five, one sheep is due, rising in stages as the herd grows. Sheep and goats: nothing below forty, then one sheep up to 120. Full livestock nisab table →
Agricultural produce (ushr) 5% or 10%
Due at harvest, not after a year — the rate depends entirely on irrigation: "On a land irrigated by rain water or by natural water channels or if the land is wet due to a near by water channel Ushr (i.e. one-tenth) is compulsory (as Zakat); and on the land irrigated by the well, half of an Ushr (i.e. one-twentieth) is compulsory (as Zakat on the yield of the land)" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1483), once yield reaches roughly 653kg (five wasq). Zakat on agricultural produce →
Rikaz — buried treasure & minerals 20%
Pre-Islamic buried treasure a person finds owes a full fifth (khums) rather than 2.5% — "Khumus is compulsory on Rikaz" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1499), no nisab or hawl required, due immediately on discovery.
Stocks & investments 2.5%
Active traders value their whole portfolio as trade goods. Long-term investors, per many contemporary scholars, owe zakat only on the company's own zakatable assets (cash, receivables, inventory) proportional to their shareholding — not on fixed assets like factories. Zakat on stocks & investments →
Cryptocurrency 2.5%
A genuinely modern question without classical precedent, but most contemporary scholars and fatwa bodies say yes — treated like currency or trade goods depending on how it's held. Zakat on cryptocurrency →
Debts owed to you (receivables) 2.5%
A loan you've made is still your wealth, just temporarily out of your hands. If the debtor is solvent, most scholars say include it each year; if doubtful, many permit delaying until you actually collect it. Zakat on debts owed to you → · Deducting your own debts →
Retirement & pension funds depends
Zakatable if you can access or liquidate it at will; the more accepted contemporary view is that zakat isn't due while funds remain genuinely locked away and outside your control. Zakat on retirement & pension funds →
Rental property income only
The property itself isn't zakatable — same as your own home. Only the rental income you actually receive is, once it joins your other cash and crosses nisab for a full year. Zakat on rental property →
Who receives zakat — the eight categories
Zakat must reach an eligible recipient among the eight categories (Quran 9:60). How it reaches them — by your own hand or a trusted intermediary — is a matter of means; both are valid.
How to distribute zakat: by yourself or through a third party. Giving it directly yourself: you hand your zakat to eligible people you know, such as a poor relative who is not your dependent, a needy neighbour, or a debtor. Advantages: certainty it reached a real eligible person, a personal connection and dua, and it keeps wealth circulating locally. Cautions: you must verify eligibility yourself, reach is limited, and you may miss a category. Through a trusted third party: a zakat authority, an established Islamic charity, or the states zakat body collects and distributes on your behalf. Advantages: wider reach across categories and lands, expert verification of eligibility, efficiency and scale, and it is the historical norm since the collectors are themselves one of the eight categories in Quran 9:60 and the Prophet and the caliphs collected and distributed zakat, as when he sent Muadh to Yemen, Bukhari 1395. Cautions: you must ensure the body is trustworthy, distributes only to the valid categories, and pays it out promptly. Both are valid and a mix is fine; the key is that the full amount reaches the eight categories without delay. The eight categories are: the poor (fuqara), the needy (masakin), the collectors (al-amilin), those whose hearts are reconciled (muallafat qulubuhum), freeing captives (fi ar-riqab), the debt-burdened (al-gharimin), the cause of Allah (fi sabilillah), and the stranded traveller (ibn as-sabil).
- Hand it to eligible people you know — a poor relative (not a dependent), a needy neighbour, a debtor
- Certainty it reached a real, eligible person
- Personal connection & their duʿāʾ; keeps wealth local
- You must verify eligibility yourself
- Limited reach; a category may be missed
- A zakat authority, established charity, or the state collects & distributes for you
- Wider reach across categories & lands; expert eligibility checks
- The historical norm — the collectors (al-ʿāmilīn) are one of the 8 categories (9:60); the Prophet ﷺ & the caliphs collected zakat (Muʿādh to Yemen — Bukhari 1395)
- Ensure the body is trustworthy & gives only to valid categories
- Ensure it is paid out promptly, not left sitting
Both are valid — a mix is fine. Give some directly to those you know are eligible, and some through a reputable body for wider reach. The one rule: the full amount must reach the eight categories without undue delay.
The Quran doesn't leave zakat's destination open — it names every lawful recipient in a single verse: "Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect it and for bringing hearts together and for freeing captives and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the stranded traveller — an obligation imposed by Allah" (9:60). In fiqh terms: the fuqara (poor) and masakin (needy), the amilin who administer it, the mu'allafat qulubuhum whose hearts are being drawn to Islam, riqab (freeing those in bondage), gharimin (overwhelmed debtors), fi sabilillah (in Allah's cause), and ibn as-sabil (the traveller cut off from his wealth). Scholars genuinely differ on how broad fi sabilillah is — classically military struggle in Allah's cause, with some contemporary scholars extending it to wider Islamic causes — a question to take to a qualified scholar rather than assume.
Zakat al-Fitr — the other zakat
Everything above is zakat al-mal, the annual levy on wealth. Islam has a second, separate zakat: zakat al-fitr, due from every Muslim at the end of Ramadan — no nisab, no hawl — so long as they have food beyond their needs for Eid day: "Allah's Messenger ﷺ enjoined the payment of one sa' of dates or one sa' of barley as zakat-ul-fitr on every Muslim, slave or free, male or female, young or old, and he ordered that it be paid before the people went out to offer the Eid prayer" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1503). One sa' is roughly 2.5–3kg of staple food. Whether cash may be paid instead is a genuine madhhab difference: the Hanafi school permits paying the equivalent value, while the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools hold to staple food itself — both positions are centuries old, and both are followed today.
Where the four madhhabs differ
Zakat's basic obligation is agreed upon; the details below are genuine, long-standing differences between the four Sunni schools of fiqh, not errors to be resolved. Where you have a real choice, following a qualified local scholar on your specific situation is more reliable than picking a row from this table.
| Issue | Hanafi | Maliki | Shafi'i | Hanbali |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nisab basis for cash | Whichever of gold/silver is lower in value — mandatory, to bring more wealth into zakat | Gold traditionally the reference; many scholars across these three schools today recommend silver for cash specifically, for the same poor-benefiting reason | ||
| Jewellery worn for personal use | Zakatable regardless of use — gold and silver remain zakatable metals in any form | Exempt if within customary, reasonable personal-use amounts and not hoarded as savings | ||
| A minor's / insane person's wealth | Not zakatable — puberty and sanity are conditions of the obligation | Zakatable — the guardian pays from the minor's own wealth each year it's due | ||
| Deducting your own debts | Short-term debts due within the year are deducted before computing zakatable wealth | Deducted, similar to Hanafi reasoning | Debt generally does not cancel the zakat obligation on present wealth — the two are separate | Views vary; commonly closer to the Shafi'i position |
| Hawl continuity | Nisab must be met at the start and end of the year — dipping below it mid-year is tolerated | Nisab must be maintained continuously throughout the year, not just at the two ends | ||
This table summarizes commonly-cited comparative-fiqh positions for orientation, not a substitute for a fiqh text or a qualified scholar — real rulings can carry more nuance and internal difference of opinion within each school than a single-cell summary can hold.