Zakat calculation: sources and methodology
This page sets out the fiqh basis on which the calculator computes Zakat: the rate, the nisab standards, the conditions, and the divergences between the four Sunni schools, with the classical source behind each ruling. It is published so that qualified scholars can examine the method and tell us where it is wrong.
What we hold to
- A khidma, not a business. The tool is free, carries no advertising, requires no sign-up, and is funded by voluntary donations and a small number of shariah-vetted partners. Conventional ad networks are excluded on principle (ribā, maysir).
- Sourced, not asserted. Every ruling is traced to its classical madhab text where one exists. Where none exists, we say so.
- Not a fatwa. This is a calculation aid. For your own situation, consult a local scholar.
- Honest about limits. Contested and contemporary matters are flagged as such. The limitations section below is not an afterthought.
The three constants
Metric equivalences follow the AAOIFI Shariʿah Standards. Gold and silver spot prices are fetched live at calculation time, so the monetary nisab reflects the current market rather than a stored figure.
| Element | Value applied | Primary evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Rate (monetary wealth) | 2.5 % (rubʿ al-ʿushr) | Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1454 (Anas): rate established by consensus. |
| Gold nisab | 20 dīnārs ≈ 85 g pure gold | Sunan Abī Dāwūd 1573 (ʿAlī); metric equivalence per AAOIFI Shariʿah Standards. |
| Silver nisab | 5 awāq = 200 dirhams ≈ 595 g | Bukhārī 1447, Muslim 979 (Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī): muttafaq ʿalayh. |
| Ḥawl (holding period) | 1 lunar year (≈ 354 days) | Required for monetary wealth by consensus; not required for agricultural produce. |
Why two figures for the same nisab
You will see 85 g of gold quoted in some places and 87.48 g in others, including on this site. Neither is a mistake. The classical thresholds are stated in dinars and dirhams, not grams, and converting them requires choosing a weight for the mithqāl or the tola. Two chains have been in use for a century and they differ by 2.9 %. The calculator applies the first; several of our guides quote the second, because that is the figure their readers are given locally.
| Conversion | Gold | Silver | Chain | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 g / 595 g Applied by this calculator | 85 g | 595 g | 20 mithqāl × 4.25 g · 200 dirhams × 2.975 g | AAOIFI Shariʿah Standards · al-Azhar · majority contemporary practice |
| 87.48 g / 612.36 g | 87.48 g | 612.36 g | 7.5 tola × 11.664 g · 52.5 tola × 11.664 g | Darul Ifta Deoband and the Hanafi tradition of the Indian subcontinent |
Nisab standard by school (monetary wealth)
This choice decides who owes Zakat at all. The silver nisab sits roughly fourteen times lower than the gold nisab in 2026, so the Ḥanafī basis brings far more people into obligation.
| School | Cash nisab basis | Gold + silver combined? | Classical source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ḥanafī | Silver (≈ 595 g value) | Yes, combined by value | Radd al-Muḥtār (Ibn ʿĀbidīn) · al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyya · al-Hidāya (al-Marghīnānī) |
| Mālikī | Gold (≈ 85 g value) | No | Bidāyat al-Mujtahid (Ibn Rushd) · al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr (al-Dardīr) |
| Shāfiʿī | Gold (≈ 85 g value) | No | Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn (al-Nawawī) · Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (al-Shirbīnī) |
| Ḥanbalī | Gold; some hold: whichever benefits the poor | No | al-Mughnī (Ibn Qudāma) · al-Rawḍ al-Murbiʿ |
Jewellery and debt
The Ḥanafī inclusion of worn jewellery and the Shāfiʿī refusal of debt deduction are the two divergences with the largest effect on the final figure. The calculator applies each faithfully to the school you select.
| School | Worn jewellery | Stored / investment | Debts deductible? | Classical source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ḥanafī | Zakatable | Zakatable | Yes, next 12 months | al-Hidāya · Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ (al-Kāsānī) · ḥadīth Umm Salama (Abū Dāwūd), ḥadīth ʿĀʾisha (Bayhaqī 4:140) |
| Mālikī | Exempt | Zakatable | Yes, next 12 months | al-Mudawwana (Saḥnūn / Mālik) · Mukhtaṣar Khalīl |
| Shāfiʿī | Exempt | Zakatable | No | Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn (al-Nawawī) · al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab |
| Ḥanbalī | Exempt | Zakatable | Yes, next 12 months | al-Mughnī (Ibn Qudāma) · Kashshāf al-Qināʿ (al-Buhūtī) |
Rules by asset
| Asset | Rate | Ḥawl | Classical source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold & silver | 2.5 % | Required | Ḥanafī (al-Hidāya, Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ) · Mālikī (al-Mudawwana, Mukhtaṣar Khalīl) · Shāfiʿī (Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn, al-Majmūʿ) · Ḥanbalī (al-Mughnī, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ). Evidence: Abū Dāwūd 1573, Bukhārī 1447 / 1454, Muslim 979, Qurʾān 9:34-35. |
| Cash & savings | 2.5 % | Required | Ḥanafī (Radd al-Muḥtār, al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyya) · Mālikī (Bidāyat al-Mujtahid, al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr) · Shāfiʿī (Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn, Mughnī al-Muḥtāj) · Ḥanbalī (al-Mughnī, al-Rawḍ al-Murbiʿ). |
| Stocks & funds Contemporary ijtihād | 2.5 % | Required | AAOIFI Shariʿah Standard No. 35 · International Islamic Fiqh Academy (OIC) · Fiqh Council of North America. Classical basis for urūḍ al-tijāra: al-Hidāya, Bidāyat al-Mujtahid, Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn, al-Mughnī. |
| Cryptocurrency Contemporary ijtihād | 2.5 % | Required | Mufti Faraz Adam (Darul Fiqh / Amanah Advisors) · Fiqh Council of North America · contemporary fiqh studies (2025). |
| Business assets (urūḍ al-tijāra) | 2.5 % | Required | Ḥanafī (al-Hidāya, bāb urūḍ al-tijāra; Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ) · Mālikī (Bidāyat al-Mujtahid, al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr) · Shāfiʿī (Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn, Mughnī al-Muḥtāj) · Ḥanbalī (al-Mughnī, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ). Evidence: Abū Dāwūd (Samura ibn Jundab). |
| Real estate | 2.5 % | Required | al-Hidāya · al-Mudawwana · Bidāyat al-Mujtahid · Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn · al-Mughnī · Fiqh al-Zakāh (al-Qaraḍāwī). |
| Agricultural produce Pending scholarly confirmation | 10 % / 5 % | Not required, due at harvest | Qurʾān 6:141 · Bukhārī (ʿushr / niṣf al-ʿushr) · Bukhārī 1447, Muslim (5-wasq nisab). Per school: al-Hidāya, al-Mudawwana, al-Majmūʿ, al-Mughnī. |
How the engine applies these rules
- The live gold or silver spot price sets the monetary nisab; the school you select decides which metal is the basis.
- Under the Ḥanafī school, gold and silver values are combined to reach nisab. The other three assess each independently.
- Jewellery is reduced to pure metal weight, that is (weight × carats) ÷ 24, before valuation.
- Worn jewellery counts under Ḥanafī and is excluded under Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī.
- Debts falling due within twelve months are deductible under Ḥanafī, Mālikī and Ḥanbalī; not under Shāfiʿī.
- Ḥawl is required for every monetary category and not for agricultural produce.
- Metal prices are fetched at the moment of calculation. No personal financial data is stored.
What we are not sure about
A reference that lists only what it knows is not a reference. These are the points where our confidence stops.
- Ibāḍī school
- Not implemented. Oman pages require an explicit choice among the four available Sunni school settings; none is substituted for an Ibāḍī ruling.
- Agricultural nisab
- The 5-wasq figure is implemented as ≈ 612 kg. Published estimates range from 612 to 653 kg, and the figure warrants a scholar’s confirmation.
- Contemporary topics
- Cryptocurrency and the long-term investment method for shares rest on contemporary collective ijtihād (AAOIFI, OIC Fiqh Academy, FCNA), not on the classical canon alone. They are labelled as such in the tool.
- Scope of review
- The rulings for the four Sunni schools were reviewed by a qualified imam before publication. We do not present this tool as an authority; we present it for correction.
Review and corrections
The rulings for the four Sunni schools were reviewed by a qualified imam on . The underlying methodology document is dated .
If a ruling here is imprecise, or a school’s position is poorly rendered, write to us. Accuracy in this matter is a trust (amāna), and corrections are applied and dated. [email protected]