Nisab

Gold or silver nisab?

87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver: two classical thresholds, for the same due. Today, they no longer tell the same story at all.

Last updated: 8 September 2026

Zakat al-Maal, not Zakat al-Fitr — This page is about Zakat al-Maal — the annual due on wealth, Islam's third pillar. It is distinct from Zakat al-Fitr, a separate obligatory charity that completes the Ramadan fast (roughly 2.5 to 3 kg of staple food per household member, due before the Eid prayer) — never a percentage of wealth. This calculator does not cover Zakat al-Fitr.

Today's nisab

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Where these two weights come from

Both references are old and never change: 20 mithqal of gold, roughly 87.48 g, and 200 dirhams of silver, roughly 612.36 g. What varies is never the weight — it's which of the two to apply.

Two weights, and two gram conversions

The classical weight (20 mithqal of gold, 200 dirhams of silver) isn't in question — its conversion to grams is. This site uses 87.48 g / 612.36 g, the same value as Islamic Relief and the National Zakat Foundation. Other well-known calculators, such as al-feqh.com, use 85 g / 595 g, from a 4.25 g dinar and a 2.975 g dirham — a different historical weight for the same coins. If another site quotes you a slightly different nisab for the same metal, that isn't necessarily an error on either side.

Why the gap between gold and silver is so wide today

Originally, the two thresholds represented a fairly similar value. The price ratio between gold and silver has since shifted a great deal on modern markets, and the gap between the two nisabs has widened accordingly — reaching roughly a factor of 9 today. In practice: someone whose wealth sits between the two thresholds is liable under one, not under the other.

Who follows which

The silver nisab is more often adopted for zakat on money and savings, on the grounds that a lower threshold benefits recipients more — in keeping with zakat's redistributive purpose. The gold nisab is still followed by others, notably for gold holdings themselves. Neither is universally "the right one": the choice comes down to the opinion followed, not a calculation.

Both thresholds today

The values below are recalculated every day from metal prices, exactly as in the calculator.

The nisab is never fixed

Unlike the 2.5% rate, which never changes, the nisab tracks the price of gold and silver — so it can differ from one month to the next, even for the same person from one year to another.

Sources

The figures and rules cited in this article, for verification.

The exact figure takes a year of tracking

Zakat is owed on the minimum amount you held across the whole lunar year — not on today's balance. Wazn tracks that minimum month after month and tells you what you actually owe, on the date you owe it.