The ruling on zakat, and when it becomes obligatory
Who zakat is obligatory on, what denying it means, and the eight conditions that must all be met before zakat is due.
Zakat is obligatory on every Muslim, male or female, who is sane and has grown up, once they own enough wealth.
But Zakat is not owed by everyone all the time. Eight things all have to be true first:
Zakat only becomes due when all of these are true
- You are a Muslim.Zakat is not due from a non-Muslim, and it is not asked from someone who was Muslim only after they accept Islam, for the years before.
- You are free, not a slave.
- You are grown up, not a child.
- You are of sound mind.If someone loses their mind for a whole year, Zakat is not due for that year. Even a short time of being sane during the year is enough to bring Zakat back.
- You own at least the nisab, the minimum amount of wealth the Shariah has set, and you have owned it for a full year.
- You fully own the wealth yourself.Money owed to you that you cannot yet collect, or something like a dowry not yet received, does not count.
- The wealth is more than what you and your family need to live on.Your house, clothes, furniture, car, and the gold or silver jewellery you actually wear are not counted, unless they are bought to be sold for profit.
- You are not in debt in a way that would drop you below the nisab once the debt is paid.This is only debt that someone else could demand from you: a loan, money you owe for something you bought, or Zakat from an earlier year you have not yet paid. A wife’s dowry counts as this kind of debt too. Debts that nobody but Allah can demand (like a vow, an expiation, the sadaqah of Eid, a sacrifice, or Hajj) do not stop Zakat being due.
Zakah is an obligatory duty on every Muslim who is sane and of age, whether male or female.
Denying the obligation of Zakah is disbelief. One who pays Zakah is righteous; one who delays it is sinful; one who refuses to pay it is deserving of punishment.
12Zakah does not become obligatory on wealth until every one of the following conditions is met.
The conditions for the obligation of zakah
- Being a Muslim.Zakah is not obligatory on a non-Muslim. A convert to Islam is not asked to pay Zakah for the years of disbelief; equally, Zakah is not obligatory on someone who apostatises after it became due on them.
- Being free.Zakah is not obligatory on slaves.
- Being of age.Zakah is not obligatory on minors.
- Being sane.Zakah is not obligatory on someone insane, provided the insanity lasts the whole year. If sanity returns even briefly, Zakah becomes obligatory.
- Possessing the nisab.If wealth falls short of the nisab, Zakah is not obligatory, provided the wealth has been owned for a full year; wealth not held for a year, like produce grown and consumed within the year, is not liable. Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth on which Zakah becomes due.
- Full ownership.This means owning the wealth outright, including any land or property. Zakah is not obligatory on wealth not yet in the person’s control (such as a dowry not yet received) or not fully owned (such as debts owed to someone that they have no ownership over).
- The wealth exceeds basic needs.Basic needs (housing, clothing, household items, vehicles, service workers, and food for oneself and one’s family) are not liable to Zakah. Gold and silver jewellery and other items for personal use are likewise exempt unless they are held for trade.
- The person is not in debt in a way that would take them below the nisab.This applies to any debt that people can rightfully demand: money borrowed (cash or in kind, immediate or deferred), compensation owed for something purchased, or unpaid Zakah itself (whether on animals, on cash, or on trade goods). Debts that cannot be claimed by people (a vow, an expiation, the sadaqah of Eid, a sacrifice, Hajj) do not prevent Zakah. A wife’s dowry (mahr) is counted among debts: if it is mahr due immediately, the husband owes no Zakah on the amount until it is paid; if it is a deferred mahr that has fallen due, the same applies until it is paid; but if a deferred mahr has not yet fallen due (as with a dowry payable only on death or divorce), the husband remains liable for Zakah despite the unpaid dowry. A debt only prevents Zakah if it existed before Zakah became due; a debt taken on after a full year of owning the nisab has no effect, and Zakah remains obligatory.
The nisab must also be nāmī, capable of growth, either actually growing (through reproduction or trade) or potentially growing (by being under one’s control and capable of yielding profit). Growth may be inherent, as with gold and silver, or brought about by human effort, as with trade goods or grazing livestock. Zakah is due, in short, on three kinds of wealth: cash (gold and silver), trade goods, and sāʾimah (grazing livestock).
A full (lunar) year must pass on the wealth. If the nisab is complete at the start and the end of the year but dips in between, Zakah remains obligatory regardless. If, during the year, a person acquires more wealth of the same kind, even a day before the year ends, it is added to the existing wealth and Zakah is paid on the total without starting a new year. Wealth of a different kind acquired during the year (such as sheep acquired by someone who already owned camels) is not combined with the existing wealth, and a fresh year is counted for it.
Zakāh is an obligatory duty (farḍ) on every Muslim who is sane (ʿāqil) and of age (bāligh), male or female alike.
Denying the obligation of Zakāh is kufr. One who pays it is righteous (bārr); delaying it makes one sinful (āthim); and refusing it outright makes one liable to punishment.
12Zakāh does not attach to wealth until the following conditions are all satisfied together.
The conditions for the obligation of zakāh
- Islam.Zakāh is not obligatory on a non-Muslim. A new Muslim owes nothing for the period of disbelief; conversely, an apostate is likewise not liable for Zakāh that had become due before apostasy.
- Freedom (ḥurriyyah).Not obligatory on a slave.
- Bulūgh (majority).
- ʿAql (sanity).Not obligatory on the insane, provided the insanity persists the entire ḥawl (year); the return of sanity even briefly restores the obligation.
- Possession of the niṣāb.Wealth short of the niṣāb, and held for a full year, carries no Zakāh. Produce not retained for a year (cucumbers, melons and the like) is likewise exempt. Niṣāb is the minimum quantum of wealth at which Zakāh is due.
- Milk tāmm (full ownership).Ownership must extend to the whole of the wealth, land included. Wealth not yet in the owner’s ḥawz (such as a mahr not yet received) or a claim without ownership (such as a debt owed by another) does not qualify.
- Freedom from ḥājah aṣliyyah (basic need).Housing, clothing, household goods, means of transport, domestic help and food for oneself and dependants, the ḥawāʾij aṣliyyah, are excluded, as is gold, silver or other jewellery held for personal use rather than trade.
- Freedom from debt that would reduce the estate below the niṣāb.This is restricted to debt of the kind that ʿibād (people) may rightfully demand: a loan (dayn), whether cash or in kind, whether due immediately or on term; compensation (ḍamān) for something acquired; or Zakāh itself left unpaid (on livestock, cash, or trade goods). Ḥuqūq Allāh that cannot be claimed by ʿibād (a vow (nadhr), a kaffārah, the ṣadaqah of ʿĪd, an ʿaqīqah or qurbānī, ḥajj expenses) do not prevent Zakāh even if they exceed what remains after primary needs are set aside. Mahr is treated as debt: an unpaid mahr muʿajjal (immediate) suspends Zakāh liability on the amount until paid, as does a mahr muʾajjal (deferred) once it has fallen due; where a mahr muʾajjal has not yet fallen due, as with dowries deferred to death or divorce under modern practice, the husband remains liable for Zakāh notwithstanding the unpaid mahr. A debt bars Zakāh only if it predates the completion of the ḥawl; a debt contracted afterwards has no retroactive effect and Zakāh remains due.
The niṣāb must further be nāmī (growth-generating): either ḥaqīqatan (actually growing, by reproduction or trade) or taqdīran (potentially growing, by being under the owner’s control and capable of yielding profit). Each divides into growth that is inherent (khilqatan), as with gold and silver, and growth brought about by human effort (bi-ṣunʿ), as with trade goods or grazing. Zakāh is thus due on exactly three categories of wealth: cash (gold and silver), ʿurūḍ at-tijārah (trade goods), and sāʾimah (grazing livestock).
A complete ḥawl (lunar year) must elapse on the wealth. Where the niṣāb is intact at the start and the close of the year but falls in the interim, Zakāh remains obligatory regardless of the fluctuation. Wealth of the same species acquired during the year, even a day before the ḥawl completes, is added to the existing holding (ḍamm) and Zakāh is assessed on the aggregate without a fresh ḥawl; wealth of a different species (e.g. sheep acquired by an existing owner of camels) is not aggregated, and an independent ḥawl is counted for it.
Terms on this page
Related
- Miscellaneous rules of zakat The age of a zakat animal, why herds of different animals cannot be combined, and the option to pay zakat in cash or in kind.
- Zakat on trade goods How the nisab and value of stock-in-trade are worked out, and when profit and rented items are or are not liable to zakat.
- The conditions for a valid payment of zakat What makes an act of giving actually count as zakat: who can pay it, the intention it needs, and who it must reach.
- Sadaqat al-Fitr (Zakat al-Fitr) Who must pay Sadaqat al-Fitr, when it becomes due, how much to give of each kind of food, and who may receive it.