About Zakat
Sadaqah (voluntary charity) is a virtuous deed in Islam. In fact, it is considered as a proof of one’s eeman (faith). The Prophet (S.A.W.S.) sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said in the following authentic hadeeth: Abu Malik al-Ashari (R.A.) (radhi Allahu anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (S.A.W.S.) Said: “Cleanliness is half of faith. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale. SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah) and Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth. Prayer is a light. Charity is proof (of one’s faith). Endurance is a brightness and the Qur’an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves. (Muslim, 432)
What is Nisab?
Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth required to make a person liable to pay Zakat. The nisab (or minimum amount) of gold and golden currency is 20 mithqal, this is approximately 85 grams of pure gold. One mithqal is approximately 4.25 grams. The nisab of silver and silver currency is 200 dirhams, which is approximately 595 grams of pure silver. The nisab of other kinds of money and currency is to be scaled to that of gold, 85 grams of pure gold. This means that the nisab of money is the price of 85 grams of 999-type (pure) gold, on the day in which Zakat is paid. (Current Gold Prices)
Easiest way to work out Zakat
At any day of the year (eg 21st Ramadan) add up the value of your gold, silver, savings, cash, shares etc – these are your total assets. Minus from this any money you owe and any bills immediately due – these are your liabilities. If the balance is more than the nisab value, then you have to pay Zakat of 2.5% on the whole amount.
Examples
If the nisab is $2,840 (PKR 497,451) this Ramadan and you have savings of $1,313 (PKR 229,983) and gold worth $1,970 (PKR 345,063) (Total $3,284)(PKR 575,222) , then you have to pay 2.5% of the whole amount as Zakat – which = $82 (PKR 1,4363).
Deduction of Debts:
The owner should deduct any amount of money he or she borrowed from others, then check if the rest reaches the necessary nisab, then pays Zakat for it. If the owner had enough money to satisfy the nisab at the beginning of the year, then the money increased (in profits, salaries, inheritance, grants…etc.), the owner needs to add the increase to the nisab amount owned at the beginning of the year, then pay Zakat, 2.5%, of the total at the end of the lunar year. (there are small differences in the fiqh schools here) Each Muslim calculates his or her own Zakat individually. For most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of one’s capital. A pious person may also give as much as he or she pleases as sadaqa, and does so preferably in secret. Although this word can be translated as 🙶 voluntary charity 🙷 it has a wider meaning. The Prophet said ‘even meeting your brother with a cheerful face is charity.’
