What is Zakat?
Zakat (zakat, zakah), or almsgiving, is one of the five pillars of Islam. This means that Zakat is mandatory for Muslims, along with the other four sacred pillars of prayer (salah), fasting (sawm), pilgrimage (Hajj), and belief in Allah and His Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) (shahadah). For every sane, adult Muslim who owns wealth over a certain amount – known as the Nisab – he or she must pay 2.5% of that wealth as Zakat.
“Take from their wealth so that you might purify and sanctify them” (Qur’an 9:103)
Eligible Muslims pay Zakat once a year, and it is due as soon as one lunar (Islamic) year has passed since meeting or exceeding the Nisab (a certain amount of wealth). The Zakat of every Muslim is then distributed to those who meet the criteria to receive it. At Islamic Relief, your Zakat is distributed with the utmost care to ensure that the most vulnerable, including children, and those affected by war, disease, and climate disasters, have access to the help that they need.
What is Nisab?
The Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth a Muslim must possess before they become liable to pay Zakat. This amount is often referred to as the Nisab threshold.
Gold and silver are the two values used to calculate the Nisab threshold. The Nisab is the value of 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver.
Nisab Value (as of 06/04/2022):
Using the value of silver (612.36 grams) – approximately £366.80
Using the value of gold (87.48 grams) – approximately £4,139.55
There are eight categories of people who are eligible to receive Zakat.
- The poor
- The needy
- Administrators of Zakat
- Those whose hearts have been recently reconciled
- Those who have been enslaved
- Those in debt
- In the cause of God
- Travellers (including refugees)
A poor person is someone whose property, in excess of his basic requirements, does not reach the nisab threshold. The recipient must not belong to your immediate family, therefore; your spouse, children, parents, and grandparents cannot receive your zakat. Other relatives, however, can receive your zakat.