How should I calculate and pay zakāh?
Zakāh has conditions, a nisab, a rate, and categories of recipients — all laid out in the Qur'an and the classical fiqh tradition. An overview grounded in the four madhāhib.
10 passages from 6 books in the library
Calculator Try the Zakāt calculator — 4-madhhab guide →The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 6 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Zakat is categorized into six types, zakat on livestock, zakat on gold and silver, zakat"
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"on trade, zakat on buried wealth and minerals, zakat on agricultural produce, and zakat"
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"The zakat of mixed ownership is treated like the zakat of a single owner for the nisab."
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"If all the poor left zakat, they would sin, as zakat is a due obligation from God Almighty"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"which has been previously mentioned in the section on zakat. A hadith reports that he would never keep a dinar or dirham overnight."
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"This is agreed upon in a similar narration from Umar ibn al-Khattab previously mentioned in the Zakat section."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"The jurist may say that zakat was waived, but if this means only the ruler's and collector's demand is waived,"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"was previously discussed in the section on zakat. The book of fear and hope, the first part on hope,"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"like zakat and obligatory sustenance. Consensually acquired might involve compensation, like sales,"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
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"zakat and tithes be collected, following his pledge of allegiance to Caliph Abu al-Abbas al-Abbasi."
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