What is Nisab?
The minimum amount of wealth a Muslim must hold before Zakat becomes due.
Nisab is the threshold for Zakat — the value of 87.48g of gold or 612.36g of silver. If your net zakatable wealth, held for a full lunar year, exceeds the nisab, Zakat of 2.5% is due. Many scholars suggest the lower silver nisab.
Example
If the silver nisab is 60,000 and your net wealth is 900,000, Zakat (2.5%) is 22,500.
How nisab is set
Nisab is the minimum amount of net wealth a Muslim must hold before Zakat becomes due. It is defined by the value of 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver, converted at current market prices — so the cash figure changes as metal prices move.
Gold or silver, and why it exists
Many scholars recommend using the lower silver-based nisab, because it brings more people into giving and therefore benefits more recipients. The threshold exists so that Zakat is owed only by those with genuine surplus wealth held for a full lunar year, not by those with little.
Common mistake: using one fixed cash figure all year
Because nisab is defined by a weight of gold or silver rather than a fixed currency amount, its cash value moves with the metals market — it is not a number you can look up once and reuse for years. The National Zakat Foundation (NZF), a UK Zakat body, publishes updated nisab values because "these monetary values fluctuate daily based on precious metals markets." When you check whether your wealth has stayed above nisab for a full lunar year, the correct approach is to compare against the nisab value on each relevant date, not a single average figure.
87.48g/612.36g or 85g/595g? A real scholarly difference
Sources do not fully agree on the exact nisab weights. NZF states the threshold set by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as "87.48 grams of gold and 612.36 grams of silver," while noting "an alternative view of 85 and 595 grams respectively." Zakat Foundation of America similarly describes the gold nisab as "the equivalent of 85 grams of pure gold (approximately 3 U.S. ounces)." This is a genuine difference in scholarly rounding/conversion, not an error — either figure is defensible, and the two produce only a small difference in the resulting cash threshold, so check which convention your local zakat authority or mosque follows if you want to match their calculation exactly.
A second example: silver nisab vs gold nisab, side by side
Suppose silver trades at $0.90/gram and gold at $85/gram on your zakat date. The silver nisab (612.36g) is then about $551, while the gold nisab (87.48g) is about $7,436 — a large gap, because gold and silver no longer trade at anything close to the historical exchange ratio between them. A person with net zakatable wealth of $3,000 would owe Zakat under the (lower) silver nisab but not under the (higher) gold nisab — which is exactly why most scholars and zakat bodies, including NZF, recommend the silver standard: it brings more people into paying, benefiting more recipients, even though a minority view favours gold as more stable.
How nisab relates to Zakat
Nisab is the threshold test, not the payment itself — see what Zakat is for how the 2.5% rate is applied once wealth clears this threshold and has been held for a full lunar year (hawl). Nisab only tells you whether Zakat is due at all; it doesn't change the 2.5% rate charged on the qualifying wealth once you're above it.
FAQ
Does the nisab value change during the year?
Yes. Because nisab is fixed as a weight of gold or silver, not a currency amount, its equivalent cash value moves daily with metal prices. Zakat bodies republish the current cash equivalent regularly rather than using one fixed number all year.
Which nisab should I use if gold and silver give very different thresholds?
Most scholars and zakat organizations recommend the silver-based nisab because it is lower, which brings more people into the obligation and so benefits more recipients; a minority view favours the gold standard. Check which convention your own school of thought or local zakat authority follows if that matters to you.
Sources
- Zakat Nisab Today — National Zakat Foundation (UK) (accessed 26 September 2026)
- Nisab and Zakat Calculation in a Nutshell — Zakat Foundation of America (accessed 26 September 2026)