In short: The nisab is the minimum amount of wealth you must hold for a lunar year before Zakat is due. Most UK scholars advise using the silver nisab if your wealth is in cash or mixed assets.
Many people know that Zakat is 2.5%, but fewer are sure about the Zakat nisab. Understanding the nisab is the first step to knowing whether you need to pay Zakat at all, and getting it wrong can mean an obligation is missed.
What is the Zakat nisab?
The nisab is a threshold set by the Prophet ﷺ. If a Muslim owns wealth equal to or above this amount, and it stays at or above that level for a full lunar year (known as the hawl), Zakat becomes due on it.
The nisab is measured in two ways:
- Gold: 87.48 grams (often rounded to 85 grams).
- Silver: 612.36 grams (often rounded to 595 grams).
Because the price of gold is much higher than silver, the gold nisab is a much larger amount of money than the silver nisab.
Gold or silver?
If all of your wealth is in gold, you use the gold nisab. If you have cash, savings, business stock or a mix of assets, many scholars, especially in the Hanafi school, advise using the silver nisab. This is because it is the lower threshold, which means more people pay Zakat and more of the poor are helped. It is also the more cautious position for your own akhirah.
Because gold and silver prices change every day, the cash value of the nisab moves too. Always check the latest figure on the day you calculate.
What counts towards the nisab?
- Cash at home and in bank accounts
- Gold and silver, including jewellery according to the Hanafi school
- Business stock and goods for sale
- Shares and investments (depending on their type)
- Money owed to you that you expect to be repaid
Your home, car, furniture and personal items you use are not included.
Choose a Zakat date
Pick a date in the Islamic calendar when you first reached the nisab and calculate your Zakat on that date every year. Many people choose a day in Ramadan, but any fixed date works as long as you are consistent.
Work Out Your Zakat
Use our simple Zakat calculator to check whether you are above the nisab and how much you owe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my wealth drops below the nisab during the year?
According to the Hanafi school, what matters is that you are above the nisab at the start and end of the year. Small dips in between do not reset the year unless your wealth drops to zero.
Is the nisab the same for everyone?
The weight of gold and silver is fixed, but the cash value changes with market prices.
Do I pay Zakat on the whole amount or just above the nisab?
Zakat is paid at 2.5% on all your Zakatable wealth, not just the part above the nisab.