Zakat on Gold: Nisab in Grams for Every Karat, and How to Pay

If you own gold, whether as savings or jewellery, the first thing you need to know is the nisab for zakat on gold: according to most contemporary scholars it is 85 grams of pure 24-karat gold. But most people’s gold is 22k, 21k or 18k, so how do you work it out? This guide gives you a ready table for every karat, shows how to calculate zakat by weight and by value, and explains the scholarly positions on jewellery, with clear examples.

What is the gold nisab in grams for each karat?

The baseline is 85 g of pure gold. Any karat below 24 needs more weight to reach the nisab, because part of its weight is other metals mixed with the gold. Figures are rounded to the nearest tenth of a gram.

Where does the 85 gram figure come from?

The Sunnah does not mention grams; it states the nisab in dinars. In the hadith of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet ﷺ said:

“And nothing is due on you, meaning in gold, until you have twenty dinars. If you have twenty dinars and a year has passed on them, half a dinar is due.” (Sunan Abi Dawud 1573)

The Islamic dinar weighed one mithqal of gold, which contemporary scholars estimate at about 4.25 g. So the nisab is 20 × 4.25 = 85 g. Half a dinar out of twenty is one fortieth, or 2.5%.

Some researchers estimate the mithqal slightly differently, which puts the nisab a little above or below 85 g. The difference is small, and 85 g is the figure adopted by most contemporary councils and fatwa bodies, and used by most zakat calculators.

The silver nisab is two hundred dirhams, estimated today at about 595 g of pure silver. Its evidence is the hadith: “There is no zakat on less than five awaq (of silver).” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1447; Sahih Muslim 979). One uqiyah is forty dirhams.

How do I work out the nisab for 21k or 18k gold?

The karat tells you how many parts out of 24 are pure gold. 21k gold is 21 parts gold and 3 parts other metals. So convert your gold’s weight to its pure-gold equivalent with this formula:

Pure weight = actual weight × karat ÷ 24

Then compare the result with 85 g. Rearranged, the nisab for any karat is 85 × 24 ÷ karat.

Conversion examples

• 100 g of 21k = 100 × 21 ÷ 24 = 87.5 g pure. It reaches the nisab.
• 100 g of 18k = 100 × 18 ÷ 24 = 75 g pure. On its own, it does not reach the nisab.
• 50 g of 22k plus 50 g of 18k = 45.8 + 37.5 = about 83.3 g pure. Just short of the nisab.

The Egyptian Dar al-Ifta position on 21k

Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta takes 85 g of 21k gold as the nisab. Its reasoning is that gold is rarely worked or minted without a small alloy for hardness, following the Hanafi view that a small admixture is overlooked. Under this view the nisab is reached a little sooner than when measured in pure gold. Calculating with pure 24k gold is the more precise approach and is followed by many; if you are in Egypt and follow Dar al-Ifta, you may take its position.

How do I calculate zakat on gold by weight or by value?

If your gold reaches the nisab and a full lunar year passes, one fortieth is due. There are two ways to pay:

1. By weight: pure weight × 2.5% = zakat in grams of pure gold.
2. By value: pure weight × today’s 24k price per gram × 2.5%. Equivalently: actual weight × today’s price for your karat × 2.5%.

The Hanafis and many contemporary scholars allow paying zakat on gold in cash at its value. This is usually easier for the giver and more useful for the recipient, who generally needs money more than a small piece of gold.

Worked example

A woman has 120 g of 21k gold kept as savings, and a lunar year has passed. For illustration only (not a real price; check today’s price where you live), suppose 21k gold costs 100 units of her currency per gram:

Zakat is calculated on the full weight, not just the amount above the nisab.

Gold nisab vs silver nisab: what is the difference?

People sometimes confuse the two or assume one replaces the other. Both come from the Sunnah, but their value today is very different, because silver has become far cheaper relative to gold than it was in the Prophet’s time.

If you hold pure gold, its nisab is 85 g; if you hold silver, its nisab is 595 g. The choice between the two only arises when setting the nisab for paper money and trade goods, which we cover in how to calculate zakat step by step.

Is gold combined with cash to reach the nisab?

Someone may have gold that does not reach the nisab alone, and cash that does not reach it alone. Do they add up?

• Gold with cash and trade goods: the majority of scholars combine cash and trade goods with gold and silver by value, since they are all forms of monetary wealth. If you have savings gold and cash, value the gold at today’s price and add it to your cash. If the total reaches the nisab, zakat is due on all of it.
• Gold with silver: an old difference of opinion. The Hanafis and Malikis combine them; the Shafi’is treat each metal separately with its own nisab; two narrations are reported from Imam Ahmad.

Is zakat due on gold jewellery that is worn?

This is one of the best-known differences in the chapter of zakat, and both positions have recognised evidence:

Among the hadiths cited for the second view: a woman came to the Prophet ﷺ with her daughter, who wore two thick gold bangles. He asked, “Do you pay zakat on these?” She said no. He said, “Would it please you if Allah put two bangles of fire on you because of them on the Day of Resurrection?” (Reported by Abu Dawud and an-Nasa’i). Some scholars criticised the chains of the hadiths on this topic while others authenticated them, which is why the difference remains valid.

When everyone agrees zakat is due

• Gold kept for savings or investment, such as bars and coins.
• Gold held for trade, such as a jeweller’s stock.
• Jewellery that is impermissible, or kept with the intention of saving or avoiding zakat, or far beyond what is customary, according to the jurists who specify this.

The difference is only about permissible jewellery worn in the normal way. A woman who pays zakat on her jewellery to be safe has done well; one who follows the majority view has a basis among the scholars. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust locally.

What is the warning for not paying zakat on gold?

﴿وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلَا يُنفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ﴾

“And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah – give them tidings of a painful punishment.” (Surah At-Tawbah 9:34, translation: Sahih International)

﴿يَوْمَ يُحْمَىٰ عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَىٰ بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ ۖ هَٰذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا مَا كُنتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَ﴾

“The Day when it will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, [it will be said], ‘This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard.'” (Surah At-Tawbah 9:35, translation: Sahih International)

Many of the early scholars explained the blameworthy “hoarding” as wealth on which zakat is not paid. Wealth whose zakat is paid is not hoarding, even if it is stored away. Saving is permitted; what is required is giving Allah’s right on it every year.

Practical questions about zakat on gold

Do gemstones count in the weight?

No. Count the weight of the gold only, not stones, beads or settings. If they cannot be separated, estimate the gold weight or ask a jeweller. Precious stones like diamonds and pearls are not zakatable according to the majority unless they are held for trade.

What about the making charge?

What matters is the gold’s weight and its price per gram on your zakat date, not what you paid when buying. If you pay by value, use the current market selling price.

Who pays zakat on a wife’s gold?

The gold belongs to the wife, so the zakat is due from her wealth. If her husband pays it on her behalf with her permission, that is valid and a kindness, but he is not obliged to.

Gold owned by a young daughter

According to the majority, zakat is due on a child’s wealth that reaches the nisab, and the guardian pays it; the jewellery difference applies here too. The Hanafis do not require zakat on a minor’s wealth at all.

Gold bought during the year

If you have a fixed zakat date and buy gold during the year, the simplest approach is to include it on your next zakat date with the rest of your wealth. If it was bought with money that was already part of your zakat year, it continues that year according to those who combine monetary wealth; if it is new wealth, paying with the rest is simply paying early, which the majority permit.

Gold accounts and gold funds

Newer forms of gold ownership, such as bank gold accounts, digital gold in apps and gold-linked funds, are generally treated like savings gold if they represent gold you truly own: they are added to your wealth and valued on your zakat date. Whether a given product is itself Shariah-compliant is a separate question for specialists in Islamic finance.

Keeping track of zakat on your gold every year

The hard part is usually not the arithmetic but remembering the date and checking the price. Some tips:

• Record the weight and karat of each piece once, and update the record when you buy or sell.
• Set one fixed Hijri zakat date and include your cash in the same calculation.
• Check the gold price on the day you calculate and apply the formula above.

In Rafiq Al-Taa, the app we are building at Farhoon, the zakat calculator accepts gold in 24k, 22k, 21k and 18k and converts it to the 24k equivalent automatically, compares it with the 85 g nisab, and can add cash, silver and business stock, with a yearly reminder for your zakat date. The app is coming soon to Google Play and the App Store.

If you are looking for the amount due at the end of Ramadan, see our separate guide to zakat al-fitr: amount and timing.

For more on the karat question, see Dar al-Ifta’s fatwa on why the nisab is set at 21k (Arabic), and on calculating zakat on 21k gold, IslamQA (Arabic). What we have presented are the well-known scholarly views; for personal cases, consult trusted scholars where you live.