Zakat on gold: jewellery, karats and the nisab
Gold is the oldest savings account in the world. It sits in a drawer, it hangs at a wrist, it waits in a safe for a daughter's wedding. Because it lives in so many places at once, it is also the part of zakat people find hardest to count. This guide counts it with you, gram by gram.
Short answer: Work out the pure gold you own (grams × karat ÷ 24). If it reaches the nisab of 85 g of pure gold, alone or with your other wealth, and a lunar year has passed, zakat is 2.5% of its value on your zakat date. Gold kept as savings counts in every view. On jewellery you wear, the Hanafi school counts it and the other three schools do not.
Want the figure straight away? The free zakat calculator converts karats for you, fills a dated gold price in your currency and shows both views on jewellery.
Step 1: find the pure gold
Zakat looks at the gold in the piece, not the weight of the piece. Multiply the weight in grams by the karat, then divide by 24.
| Karat | Pure gold in each gram | 100 g of this gold holds |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 100% | 100 g pure |
| 22 | 91.67% | 91.67 g pure |
| 21 | 87.5% | 87.5 g pure |
| 18 | 75% | 75 g pure |
| 14 | 58.33% | 58.33 g pure |
Stones are not gold. Weigh or estimate the gold alone. Diamonds, pearls and other gems are not counted unless you hold them for trade (Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni).
Step 2: compare with the nisab
The gold nisab is 20 mithqal, commonly converted to 85 g of pure gold (a Hanafi-weight variant gives 87.48 g). If all your zakatable wealth is gold, the gold nisab applies.
Most people also hold cash. If you hold gold and silver together, the Hanafi and Maliki schools (and one Hanbali view) add them together to reach the nisab; the Shafi'i school does not. Our calculator adds your gold to your other wealth by value and shows both the gold and the silver nisab, so you can see where you stand under each.
Step 3: value it on your zakat date
Zakat is counted on the market value on your zakat date, not on what you paid. On the morning of 29 October 2026 the world spot price was about US$129.63 a gram of pure gold. A shop's buying price is lower than its selling price, and both differ from spot; if your scholar or your country's zakat body names a price, use it. The calculator's reference price is refreshed with each site update, so it may differ from this figure; it shows its date, and a price you type replaces it.
Then take 2.5% of the value, or one fortieth of the pure weight: 40 g of pure gold owes 1 g.
Do the numbers. Type the grams and karat into the zakat calculator: it shows your zakat with worn jewellery counted and not counted, side by side. Nothing leaves your device.
Jewellery you wear: the four schools
This is the question that fills mosques with gentle argument every Ramadan, and it deserves a straight table.
| Gold that is… | Hanafi | Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali |
|---|---|---|
| Kept as savings (bars, coins, pieces not worn) | Counted | Counted |
| Held for trade | Counted | Counted |
| Permitted jewellery in normal, regular wear | Counted | Not counted |
Each side has its evidence and its great names; we do not choose between them. The calculator shows both results so that you can follow the view your scholar follows. Some people pay on worn jewellery as a precaution even where their school does not require it; that is a personal choice, and it is never wrong to give more than you owe as sadaqah.
Worked example (our own figures, at the morning spot price of 29 October 2026, gold only, no other wealth):
- Jewellery worn often: 120 g of 21 karat = 120 × 21 ÷ 24 = 105 g pure.
- A savings bar: 50 g of 24 karat = 50 g pure.
Hanafi: 105 + 50 = 155 g pure, above 85 g. Value 155 × 129.63 = US$20,092.65; zakat = 20,092.65 ÷ 40 = US$502.32 (or 3.875 g of gold).
Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali: only the bar counts, 50 g pure, below 85 g. With no other wealth, no zakat on this gold. Add savings in cash, and the picture can change.
Why gold and silver carry a right
The Quran warns those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend them in the way of God (9:34-35). Ibn 'Umar explained that wealth whose zakat is paid is not the hoarding in this verse (Sahih al-Bukhari 1404, his own words). That zakat falls each year on idle wealth is an economic observation, not part of the verse. Either way, the drawer and the safe are not outside the reckoning: a known share of what sleeps in them belongs to someone else.
Read next
- How to calculate zakat, step by step
- Zakat vs sadaqa: the clear difference
- Who can receive zakat? The 8 categories
Work it out
Weigh it, convert it, value it: the zakat calculator does the three steps in one place, in any currency. Then see the official bodies on where to pay zakat.
Please note
This article explains zakat on gold for general learning. It is not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar or your country's zakat authority. Mustahaqat does not collect or pass on zakat or charity.
هذا المقال للتعريف العام بزكاة الذهب وليس فتوى. لحالتك الخاصة راجع عالماً مؤهلاً أو جهة الزكاة الرسمية في بلدك. موقع مستحقات لا يجمع الزكاة ولا الصدقات ولا يوصلها.
Compiled from cited sources; ask a scholar you trust for your own case. This is not a fatwa. Drafted with AI help and checked against the sources listed. Sami Adham is a professional name, not a scholar or mufti.
Sources
Corrections
- : First published. Fiqh wording follows our source review; the example uses the reference prices of 29 October 2026.
- : Review: the example's price is now labelled as the morning spot price of 29 October, since the calculator's reference price refreshes with each site update.