Gold Nisab for Zakat: A Comprehensive Practical Guide to Calculation and Application

Why Are We Talking About Zakat on Gold Now?

With gold prices rising and gold investments increasing among Muslims, fundamental questions about religious obligations have emerged. Many people own gold in various forms—personal jewelry, savings, or even shares and investment funds—but few know exactly what they are required to pay as Zakat. This guide answers all your questions in a practical and easy way.

Minimum: Understanding the Islamic Threshold (Nisab)

What exactly is the Nisab?

The Nisab is the minimum amount of gold that Islamic law requires you to pay Zakat on. Scholars have agreed on defining it as 85 grams of pure gold (24-karat ), based on authentic hadiths from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

But what if your gold is of a lower purity?

This is where calculating gold purity comes into play:

The reason is simple: 21K gold has less purity, so you need a larger amount to reach the value of 85 grams of pure gold.

How to Calculate Zakat on Gold in Practical Steps?

Step 1: Determine the pure gold amount

If you have 100 grams of 21K gold:

• Total weight: 100 grams
• Purity of 21K: 87.5%
• Pure gold = 100 × 0.875 = 87.5 grams

Step 2: Calculate the market value

Assuming the market price of pure gold per gram = 400 SAR

• Total value = 87.5 × 400 = 35,000 SAR

Step 3: Pay the Zakat

Obligatory Zakat = 35,000 × 2.5% = 875 SAR

The complete formula: