What is Zakat payable on? Zakat is only due on wealth that:
Meets the minimum threshold of Nisab
You have owned for one lunar year
You have complete ownership over
What is Nisab? Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth that acts as a threshold to determine whether Zakat is obligatory on you. In Islamic Law, there are two ways to calculate Nisab:
GOLD
SILVER
The Nisab by the gold standard is 3 ounces of gold (87.48 grams) or its equivalent in cash. You can calculate this online, by multiplying the number of grams by the current market value of gold.
The Nisab by the silver standard is 21 ounces of silver (612.36 grams) or its equivalent in cash. You can calculate this online, by multiplying the number of grams by the current market value of silver.
Wondering which Nisab threshold you should use, gold or silver? In the Hanafi school of thought, the silver standard is predominantly used to ascertain the Nisab threshold and eligibility to pay Zakat. However, there are contemporary scholars within the Hanafi school who recommend using the gold standard, especially in today’s age where the cost of living is high and the value of silver has significantly decreased. The other schools of thought use the value of gold. You can choose to use the silver standard if you would like to increase the amount of charity distributed. SECTION 1 | UNDERSTANDING ZAK AT
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