Zakat and charity, questions and answers.
Who pays, on what, how much, who receives it, and sadaqah. 30 answers, Hanafi first, with the Quran and hadith behind each one.
- How much is zakat?Zakat is 2.5 percent (one fortieth) of your zakatable wealth, such as cash, gold, silver and business stock, once it has stayed at or above the nisab for a full lunar year. The four schools agree on this rate for money. Crops and livestock have their own rates.
- Who has to pay zakat?Zakat is fard on a Muslim who is adult and sane and owns wealth at or above the nisab, beyond debts and basic needs, for a full lunar year. In the Hanafi school a child or an insane person does not pay zakat; the other three schools say the guardian pays it from their wealth.
- Should I use the gold or silver nisab for zakat?It depends on what you own. In the Hanafi school, if your only zakatable wealth is gold, use the gold nisab. If you have cash, silver, or a mix of assets, add them together and use the silver nisab, because it is lower and better for the poor. The Shafi'i school does not add gold and silver together.
- When is zakat due?Zakat is due when a full lunar (Hijri) year has passed since you first owned the nisab. In the Hanafi school only the start and the end of that year count: if your wealth dips below the nisab in between but is back above it on the day, you pay on everything you hold then.
- Do you have to pay zakat in Ramadan?No. Zakat is due on your own zakat date, when a lunar year has passed over your nisab, in whatever month that falls. Many people choose Ramadan for the extra reward, which is fine if they pay early, but zakat that is already due should not be held back to wait for Ramadan.
- Do you pay zakat on money in the bank?Yes. Cash at home, money in current and savings accounts, fixed deposits, payment apps and foreign currency are all zakatable. On your zakat date, add the balances to your other zakatable wealth, subtract debts that are due, and pay 2.5 percent if the total is at or above the nisab.
- Do you pay zakat on your salary?Not on each paycheck as you earn it. Zakat is paid on what you still hold on your zakat date. In the Hanafi school, salary you have saved by that date is added to your other wealth and zakated with it, even if it was paid in only the day before.
- Do you pay zakat on jewellery you wear?In the Hanafi school, yes: gold and silver jewellery is zakatable whether it is worn every day or kept in a drawer. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools say there is no zakat on jewellery a woman wears in the normal way. No school charges zakat on diamonds, pearls or other gems unless they are held for trade.
- Do you pay zakat on crypto?Yes, if you hold it. Scholars differ on whether cryptocurrency is real money or a permissible investment, but those who treat it as property agree that crypto held for profit is zakatable at 2.5 percent of its market value on your zakat date, added to your other wealth.
- Do you pay zakat on your house and car?No. There is no zakat on the home you live in, your car, furniture, clothes, phone or work tools, however expensive, because they are for your own use. The four schools agree. Zakat applies only if you bought the house or car in order to sell it.
- Do you pay zakat on rental property?Not on the property itself. In the Hanafi school there is no zakat on the value of a house or flat you rent out, only on the rent you have saved by your zakat date. Land or property bought to resell is different: zakat is due on its full market value every year.
- Do you pay zakat on money owed to you?Yes, on a loan you expect to get back. In the Hanafi school its zakat is counted every year, but you may wait and pay for all the past years when it is repaid; most people simply include it in their yearly zakat. Debts you are unlikely to recover carry no zakat until the money is actually back with you.
- Do debts reduce your zakat?Yes, in the Hanafi school. Debts you owe that are due now are subtracted from your zakatable wealth before you check the nisab. For long-term debts like a mortgage or student loan, many Hanafi scholars today subtract only the payments due in the coming year, not the whole balance. In the Shafi'i school debts do not reduce zakat.
- Do children have to pay zakat?In the Hanafi school, no: there is no zakat on wealth owned by a child below puberty, even if it is above the nisab. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools say zakat is due on it and the guardian pays it from the child's money. Zakat al-fitr is still paid for children in every school.
- What if I did not pay zakat for past years?You still owe it. Missed zakat stays a debt owed to Allah until it is paid, so work out each missed year as well as you can, pay it, and repent for the delay. The four schools agree that it does not lapse with time.
- Can you pay zakat early or in monthly instalments?Yes. In the Hanafi school you may pay zakat before it is due, in one sum or in monthly instalments, once you own the nisab. On your zakat date, work out what you owe and pay any shortfall. Paying in instalments after the due date is a delay, and that should be avoided.
- Can you give zakat to family members?Yes, to most relatives who are eligible, and it earns a double reward. You cannot give zakat to your parents or grandparents, your children or grandchildren, or your husband or wife. Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws may receive it if they are eligible.
- Can a wife give zakat to her husband?No, not in the Hanafi fatwa position: Imam Abu Hanifa held that spouses may not give zakat to each other. His two students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, and the Shafi'i school allow a wife to give her zakat to a poor husband. A husband may never give zakat to his own wife.
- Can zakat be given to non-Muslims?No. In the Hanafi school, and in the mainstream view of the other schools, zakat may only be given to eligible Muslims. You can and should help needy non-Muslims with voluntary sadaqah and other charity, which is rewarded.
- Can zakat be given to a mosque?No. Zakat must be handed over into the ownership of an eligible person, so it cannot pay for building a masjid, its bills, staff or repairs. A madrasa may take zakat only to spend on its poor students as their own. The four schools agree; give the masjid your sadaqah instead.
- Can zakat be given to a Sayyid?No. In the Hanafi school, members of Banu Hashim, the family of the Prophet ﷺ known as Sayyids or Syeds, cannot receive zakat or other obligatory charity such as zakat al-fitr. Help them with gifts and voluntary sadaqah instead. The four schools agree in principle.
- Can you pay zakat through a charity?Yes. A charity that collects zakat acts as your agent, and your zakat is paid once it reaches eligible people. Choose one that keeps zakat in a separate fund, gives it only to those entitled to it, and does not spend it on general projects or its own running costs.
- Do you have to tell someone it is zakat?No. What counts is your own intention when you give it or set it aside. You can hand it over as a gift, an Eid present or help with a bill, and it is still zakat, as long as the person is eligible. The four schools agree that telling them is not required.
- Can you send zakat to another country?Yes. In the Hanafi school it is better to give zakat where you live, but sending it to another country is allowed, and better, when the people there are in greater need, such as in famine or war, or when they are your poor relatives. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools are stricter about moving zakat away.
- Can sadaqah I already gave count as zakat?Usually not. Zakat needs the intention of zakat when you give it or set it aside. In the Hanafi school you can still make that intention afterwards if the money is still intact with the person you gave it to. Charity given with no zakat intention stays sadaqah, and you are rewarded for it.
- How much is zakat al-fitr?Half a sa' of wheat or wheat flour, or a full sa' of dates or barley, for each person, or the cash value of either, in the Hanafi school. Half a sa' of wheat is commonly estimated at about 1.6 to 2 kg. Local scholars set the cash amount each year. The other schools require a full sa' of the local staple food.
- Who has to pay zakat al-fitr, and for whom?Every Muslim who, at dawn on Eid day, owns wealth worth the nisab beyond basic needs must pay it in the Hanafi school, for himself and his young children. A husband does not have to pay for his wife or adult children, though he may with their consent. The other schools make the husband pay for his wife too.
- When should zakat al-fitr be paid?It becomes due at dawn on Eid al-Fitr, and the sunnah is to pay it before the Eid prayer. In the Hanafi school you may pay it earlier in Ramadan, which helps the poor prepare for Eid. If you miss the time, it is still owed: pay it as soon as you can.
- Can zakat al-fitr be paid in cash?Yes, in the Hanafi school. Paying the value in money is valid, and often better, since the poor can buy what they need. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools hold that it must be given as food, so their followers give grain, rice or dates, or ask a charity to buy food with their money.
- Can you give sadaqah on behalf of someone who died?Yes. Charity given on behalf of a Muslim who has died reaches them and benefits them, and you are rewarded too. The four schools agree on this. A lasting charity (sadaqah jariyah) in their name, such as a well or copies of the Quran, keeps benefiting them for as long as people use it.