What Is Zakah (Zakat)? Meaning, Rules and Who Receives It

Zakah, more often spelled Zakat in English, is the obligatory annual charity in Islam. A Muslim whose savings stay above a minimum threshold, called the nisab, for one lunar year gives 2.5% of that wealth to people the Quran names as entitled to it, first among them the poor and the needy.

It is one of the five pillars of Islam, which makes it a duty and an act of worship, not an optional gift. This guide explains what the word means, who has to pay, how the threshold works, who can receive it and how it differs from Sadaqah.

What does Zakah mean? The word in Arabic

In Arabic the word is written زكاة. Zakah and Zakat are the same word: the final letter is pronounced as an "h" when the word stands alone and as a "t" when it is joined to the next word, so both spellings appear in English. You will also see Zakaat and Zakaah. English writers sometimes call it Muslim almsgiving, the alms tax or the poor-due.

The word is usually explained as carrying two senses, purification and growth. The Quran links the idea directly to giving in chapter 9, verse 103, where the Prophet is told to take charity from people's wealth "in order to purify them and sanctify them with it". Paying Zakat is understood to cleanse the wealth that remains and the person who gives it.

Zakat in Islam: the pillar and the hadith behind it

Zakat is counted among the five pillars of Islam alongside the declaration of faith, the five daily prayers, fasting in Ramadan and the Hajj pilgrimage. The best-known source is a hadith narrated by Ibn Umar in Sahih al-Bukhari, in which the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says that Islam is built on five things and lists paying Zakat among them.

A second hadith gives what is close to a definition. When the Prophet sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen, he told him to teach people about the oneness of God and the daily prayers, and then about Zakat.

Teach them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the Zakat from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor.

Conditions of Zakat: who has to pay

Zakat is not due from everyone. The conditions most often listed are:

Schools of thought differ on some details. Islamic Relief, for example, describes Zakat as due from every sane, adult Muslim above the nisab, which reflects the Hanafi view, while the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools hold that Zakat is also due on wealth owned by a child and is paid by the guardian. For questions like this about your own situation, ask a scholar or your mosque.

• The person is a Muslim.
• They fully own the wealth and can use it freely.
• The wealth is of a kind Zakat applies to, such as cash, savings, gold and silver, investments and goods held for trade. The home you live in, your car and personal belongings are not counted.
• The total, after debts that are due now, reaches the nisab.
• It has stayed at or above the nisab for one full lunar year.

What is the nisab, and how much do you pay?

The nisab is the minimum amount of wealth that makes Zakat due. It was set in gold and silver: 20 gold dinars or 200 silver dirhams. In modern weights this is commonly given as 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver, although some scholars calculate it as 85 grams of gold and 595 grams of silver.

Because gold is worth far more than silver today, the two thresholds are very different in money terms. Many scholars advise using the silver nisab for cash and mixed savings, since it brings more people into giving and so helps more people in need. Both values move with metal prices every day, so check them on the day you calculate.

The rate on money, gold, silver and trade goods is 2.5%, one fortieth. On $10,000 of qualifying wealth held for a year, Zakat is $250. Our Zakat page has a calculator, and if most of your savings are in jewelry or bullion, see our guide to Zakat on gold.

Who receives Zakat? The eight categories in Quran 9:60

Zakat cannot be spent on anything a charity chooses. The Quran lists its recipients in chapter 9 (At-Tawbah), verse 60:

Scholars discuss how each category applies today, and a charity that accepts Zakat should be able to tell you which categories its work falls under. We look at how the categories apply to families in Gaza in Can you give Zakat to Palestine?.

• The poor (al-fuqara).
• The needy (al-masakin).
• Those employed to collect and distribute Zakat.
• Those whose hearts are to be reconciled.
• Freeing people from slavery or captivity.
• People burdened by debt.
• In the cause of God (fi sabilillah).
• The traveler who is stranded without means.

Sadaqah and Zakat: what is the difference?

Zakat is obligatory, has a fixed rate, falls due once a year and may only go to the eight categories. Sadaqah is voluntary charity: any amount, at any time, to any good cause. It does not even have to be money, since a kind act counts as Sadaqah.

The two work together. Zakat sets a floor that every eligible Muslim owes, and Sadaqah is everything given beyond it. Giving extra Sadaqah does not replace Zakat that is due. More on voluntary giving is on our Sadaqah page.

Zakat is also different from Zakat al-Fitr, the small payment made for each member of a household before the Eid prayer at the end of Ramadan. We compare them in Zakat al-Fitr vs Zakat.

How to pay Zakat, and what a Zakat fund is

You can give Zakat directly to someone you know is eligible, or through a mosque or charity that distributes it for you. Many people pay in Ramadan, but Zakat is due whenever your own lunar year completes.

A Zakat fund is a pool of Zakat donations that an organization keeps apart from its other income, so the money is only spent on eligible recipients. Before you make a Zakat donation through any organization, it is fair to ask three things: is Zakat held and tracked separately, who checks that recipients are eligible, and are running costs taken from it.

A simple way to work out what you owe:

• Pick your Zakat date and use the same date in the lunar calendar each year.
• Add up cash, bank balances, gold and silver, investments and business stock.
• Subtract debts that are due now.
• If the result is at or above the nisab, multiply it by 0.025.
• Make the intention that the payment is Zakat when you give it.

Giving Zakat to families in Gaza

The first two categories in the verse are the poor and the needy. Most people in Gaza have been displaced and have lost their homes and incomes, which is why many Muslims choose to send part or all of their Zakat there.

Fight for Palestine funds food, clean water, medical aid and shelter in Gaza through local partner teams. How we handle Zakat is set out on our Zakat page, and you can give through the donate page.