Skip to content
Joyful Muslims
Join the list
Worship

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.

1 passages from 1 book in the library

Calculator Try the Zakāt calculator — 4-madhhab guide →
Where the answer comes from

The classical approach.

These passages are drawn from 1 book by Imam al-Ghazali — 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.

Read them closely. If a passage doesn't sit right, open the full book in the library and listen to the chapter around it. Context in the classical tradition is everything.

Cover of Book 20: The Book of the Prophetic Character
Book 20: The Book of the Prophetic Character
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

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 →

  1. "which has been previously mentioned in the section on zakat. A hadith reports that he would never keep a dinar or dirham overnight."

Ask a follow-up

Want a different angle?

Type your question below — JM Scholar will ground its answer in the same sources.

Grounded in the Qurʾān, authentic Sunnah, and the four madhāhib. Sourced answers. Never a fatwā — for personal matters, ask a qualified imam. How JM Scholar works →

Related questions

Keep exploring.

Hear these in full

Books these passages are from.

Notify me at launch