Zakat
Zakat on gold and silver: the nisab, the lunar year and worn jewellery, with worked examples
A complete guide to zakat on gold and silver: the conditions, the nisab (85 grams of gold and 595 grams of silver) and its value today, the Hijri year, the schools' views on worn jewellery with the fatwa authorities' positions, mixing karats, combining silver with gold, and examples worked step by step.
Zakat on gold and silver: the nisab, the lunar year and worn jewellery
Zakat on gold and silver is one of the clearest obligations in its principle and one of the most asked about in its detail: when is it due, how much is the nisab in grams and in money today, how is the year counted, does a woman pay on the jewellery she wears, what if the gold is of mixed karats, or held with silver, or pledged against a loan? This guide collects the agreed rulings, presents the differences where they exist with reference to the fatwa authorities, and works through full examples at today's prices. It is a calculation aid; the ruling for your particular case belongs to the fatwa authority in your country.
The conditions
Zakat is due on gold and silver when three conditions meet:
- Full ownership: the gold is yours and in your possession, not pledged to someone else and not disputed.
- Reaching the nisab: your pure gold reaches 85 grams, or your pure silver 595 grams.
- A full lunar year: a complete Hijri year passes after the nisab is reached.
The amount is a quarter of a tenth, 2.5%, of the value of the pure metal at the price on the day of payment.
The nisab in grams and in money today
The nisab for gold is 20 mithqals, taken as 85 grams of pure gold by most contemporary scholars (some use 87.48 g); for silver it is 200 dirhams, 595 grams (some use 612.36 g). At today's prices (November 7, 2026):
| Nisab | In grams | In USD | In GBP | In INR | In SAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 85 g pure | 11,128 | 8,332 | 1,045,058 | 41,731 |
| Silver | 595 g pure | 996 | 746 | 93,544 | 3,735 |
The silver nisab is far lower in value, which is why many scholars measure cash savings against the silver nisab as a precaution; gold itself is measured against the gold nisab.
The lunar year (hawl)
The hawl is one lunar year (about 354 days) starting on the day your holdings reach the nisab. If they fall below the nisab during the year and then return, a new year starts according to most jurists. Gold bought during the year is added to what you hold and paid on the original anniversary in the majority view, so each piece does not need its own year; the simplest practice is to fix one date in the Hijri calendar on which you pay on everything you own. The zakat calculator asks for each piece's purchase date and shows its due date in the Hijri calendar.
Jewellery that is worn
Gold a woman wears as ordinary adornment is the subject of a long-standing difference:
- No zakat is due according to the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools when the amount is customary for someone of her standing and it is not kept as savings; this is the position adopted in the fatwas of Dar al-Ifta in Egypt, which still recommends paying as a precaution to be safe from the difference.
- Zakat is due according to the Hanafi school once the nisab and the year are met; this is the ruling of the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in Saudi Arabia.
Gold kept for saving or sale, or exceeding customary adornment by far, is subject to zakat by agreement. The choice is yours after asking the fatwa authority you follow; the calculator counts everything you enter.
Mixing karats
The nisab is in pure gold, so convert each piece: weight × (karat ÷ 24).
- A 60 g chain of 22K: 60 × 0.9167 = 55 g of pure gold.
- A 40 g set of 18K: 40 × 0.75 = 30 g.
- Two Sovereigns (14.64 g of fine gold together).
The total is 99.64 g of pure gold, above the nisab, so zakat is due on all of it after the year.
Combining silver with gold
If you hold gold below the nisab and silver below the nisab, are they combined? The majority (Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali) combine them by value: the silver is valued in gold or the reverse, and if the total reaches either nisab, zakat is due; the Shafi'i school does not combine and treats each metal separately. The calculator offers both methods (combine by value, or each metal separately).
Debts and pledged gold
Someone with a due debt that absorbs his wealth: the majority deduct the debt from the wealth before computing zakat on hidden wealth such as gold, while the Shafi'i school in its authoritative view holds that debt does not prevent zakat. Gold pledged with a lender is incompletely owned until it is redeemed; ask the fatwa authority about your case if you carry a large debt.
A worked example, step by step
You own: a 22K set of 80 g bought three years ago as savings, an 18K bangle of 30 g bought a year and a half ago, and a 22K ring of 5 g bought two months ago.
- Pure gold: 80 × 0.9167 = 73.3 g; 30 × 0.75 = 22.5 g; 5 × 0.9167 = 4.58 g. Total 100.4 g.
- Nisab: 100.4 > 85, so zakat is due.
- The year: the set and the bangle have completed a year; the ring joins them and is paid on the same anniversary in the majority view (or waits for its own year in the view that separates).
- Value: a gram of pure gold today is $130.92, so 100.4 g is worth $13,144.47 (£9,841.27, ₹1,234,397.58).
- Zakat: 2.5% = $328.61 (£246.03, ₹30,859.94).
Enter the three pieces in the calculator with karat, weight and date and the same figures appear at the live price.
Paying: in gold or in cash, and to whom
You may pay in cash equal to 2.5% of the gold's value on the day of payment, which usually serves the recipient better, or in gold of the same weight. Zakat goes to the eight categories named in the Quran, first among them the poor and the needy, and may be paid through licensed zakat charities in your country. It is not paid to parents, children or others whose maintenance is your duty.
Zakat on silver
It is due under the same conditions when you hold 595 grams of pure silver; sterling (925) is converted to pure by multiplying the weight by 0.925. The silver nisab is worth about $996 today, so anyone holding silverware or bars of that weight owes zakat, and silver jewellery that is worn follows the same difference as gold jewellery.
Special cases
- Gold held jointly by heirs or partners: each pays on his share if it reaches the nisab alone in the Shafi'i view, and the shares are combined in some other schools; ask the fatwa authority.
- Children's gold: zakat is due on it in the majority view and the guardian pays it from the child's wealth.
- Lost or stolen gold: no zakat until it returns.
- Missed years: pay for each missed year at the gold's value in that year as far as you can, or ask the fatwa authority how to make it up.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay on gold I bought two months ago?
It joins what you already hold and is paid on the original anniversary in the majority view; if it is your first gold, its year starts when you reach the nisab.
How do I compute the nisab in my currency?
85 × today's 24K gram price; the calculator shows it live in any currency.
Is zakat due on bridal gold?
It belongs to the bride and follows the ruling on jewellery: if worn as ordinary adornment, the difference above applies; if kept as savings, zakat is due after the nisab and the year.
Do I pay every year?
Yes, every Hijri year while the holding stays above the nisab, 2.5% of its value at the price on the day of payment.