Your Questions About Zakat Answered

If you use the car for your personal purposes and do not have any other purposes for it, such as a car dealership, then you are not required to pay Zakat on it.

One is not required to pay Zakat on his wife’s gold or silver. The responsibility of Zakat falls on the individual who possesses the gold. The husband however, as a gesture of goodwill, can volunteer to pay Zakat on his wife’s gold, on her behalf.

On both of these funds your investment meets the requirement of access and liquidity:

1.  Access - can you get access to your funds if you wanted to on your Zakat payment date? Depending on the answer you may or may not be liable to pay Zakat. 
2. Liquidity - this is the second matter that needs to be considered when investment assets are involved. 

In most cases, you do have access to RRSP/TFSA funds and therefore you will count these assets towards your Zakat calculation on the value they have on your Zakat payment date. 

In the case of RRSP you can also deduct withdrawal tax. So you will calculate your Zakat on the net amount. 

For example, an RRSP fund contains $100,000.
 
Should you withdraw today, your withdrawal tax would be 30% of the fund equalling $30,000. Therefore, you will calculate Zakat on $70,000 (RRSP-value minus penalties and taxes).

Withdrawal taxes are as follows:

• 10% (5% in Quebec) on amounts up to $5,000
• 20% (10% in Quebec) on amounts over $5,000 up to including $15,000
• 30% (15% in Quebec) on amounts over $15,000

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If you own the house you live in and use it for yourself, you are not required to pay Zakat on it.

However, please note, Zakat is due upon a property that is used for rental purposes, or secondary properties that are marked for sale.

You are liable to pay Zakat on your pension if you have access to the entire value of the fund. If your pension is locked and cannot be accessed until specific maturity date, then you are not liable to pay Zakat on the fund.

Once you have reached the maturity date and you have full access to your pension fund, only then are you liable to pay Zakat on a yearly basis.

The calculation of Zakat on livestock is based on the total number of animals owned. Zakat would be paid accordingly, and in the form of animals. Some scholars do allow for the Zakat to be paid according to the monetary value of the animals. If you require specific details, please contact us. 

Zakat on livestock becomes obligatory once an individual reaches the Nisab on livestock. The Nisab on livestock is as follows:

Camels 5
Sheep and Goat 40
Cows and Bulls 30

The numbers increase in brackets further. If more information is needed please contact us. Payment examples listed below are only for the first animal payments:

5-9 camels - 1 sheep to be paid
40-120 sheep - 1 sheep to be paid
30 - 39 Cows or Bulls - 1 cow or bullock or heifer which has attained one year of age

There is a difference of opinion regarding paying Zakat on jewelry you wear regularly. Our stance is that Zakat should be paid on that. For gold and silver mixed with other materials, as long as the total gold percentage (or silver percentage) is greater than 50% in that piece, then Zakat should be paid on it, proportionally to the percentage. Example: if a gold bracelet is 75% gold and 25% other metals, and the total weight is 100 grams. Then Zakat is paid on the 75g of gold in it.

The Nisab of gold is equivalent to 20 Dinar or 85 grams, Nisab is the minimum threshold of wealth a person must own at which Zakat becomes payable.

Yes, one can give Zakat to their uncle or aunt, if they are Zakat eligible. And Allah knows best.

When someone owes you money there is a rule for good and bad debt. Depending on the situation you would either be liable to pay Zakat on it or you may be exempt. 

 You are liable to pay Zakat if you are certain that you will be paid back the money that is owed to you. This is classified as good debt and you would include this amount towards your Zakat calculation. 

You are NOT liable to pay Zakat on any money owed to you if you have any doubts about receiving the money, this can be for many reasons but if you are uncertain about collection then Zakat is not due. 

It is recommended to go back to each of the points in time that Zakat was missed. Then look at your account statements and determine how much wealth you had including cash, cash assets, gold, silver, etc. Based on this you can with reasonable accuracy calculate how much Zakat was supposed to be paid in those missed years. If you cannot get access to statements from those previous years, then please make a good approximation to the best of your ability. Allah knows best. National Zakat Foundation provides a one-on-one service in this area.

Email zakat@nzfcanada.com to set up an appointment for missed Zakat calculations.

The word Zakat is mentioned thirty-two times in the Quran. In thirty mentions of the thirty-two, Zakat is mentioned with its technical meaning of paying Zakat. Among these thirty mentions, Zakat has been interlinked with Salah, the obligatory prayer, twenty-eight times. This interlinking in the Quran highlights the connection between the first, second and third pillar of Islam.  It is on this common theme and thread that the great scholar Al-Hafiz al-Iraqi stated: 

Whoever can perform these three pillars with diligence will be able to perform fasting and hajj easily.

The renowned hadith scholar Al-Kirmani commented that Salah and Zakat have been paired together multiple times due to their universal nature and significance. 

Paying Zakat has been associated with several physical and metaphysical benefits in the Quran. For example: 

My Mercy extends to all things. That (Mercy) I shall ordain for those who have God-consciousness and give their Zakat and those who believe in Our Signs.

Surah Al-A`raf 7:156

Just like the Quran makes multiple references to Zakat, there are multiple ‘Ahādīth (prophetic narrations) which discuss Zakat. For example Abdullah Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) narrates:

The Prophet sent Mu`adh to Yemen and said, “Invite the people to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and I am Allah’s Messenger, and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers in every day and night (in twenty-four hours), and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the Zakat from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor.”

Sahih al-Bukhārī

There is a difference of opinion about whether Zakat must be paid on jewelry or not. The first opinion indicates there is no Zakat payable on jewelry if it is worn at least once during the lunar year. The second opinion indicates Zakat should be paid regardless of it being worn or not. National Zakat Foundation follows the latter opinion, which is to pay Zakat on jewelry regardless of how often it is worn.

Allah knows best. 

Please note, Zakat is only due on silver and gold, and is not due upon any other metals or precious stones.

The best route is to figure out the amount of gold and silver individually (their weight) and then calculate the Zakat value accordingly.

Gold and silver can be valued at its resale value by a jeweler or you can multiply the number of grams (of gold or silver) you own by the current market value. 

In order to calculate Zakat on silver and gold you must take into consideration the following:

• The purity of the gold and silver within the jewelry.
• 24K gold is considered pure gold
• To find the purity percentage of your gold, you must divide the karat value of your gold by 24 (the karat value of pure gold)
• The weight of the gold and silver within the jewelry.
• This is the true grammage of the amount of gold or silver within the jewelry and is based on the purity percentage
• To find the true grammage of your gold or silver, you multiply the total weight of gold or silver in your jewelry by the purity percentage
• The value of the gold and silver within the jewelry.
• This is determined by the current value of gold and silver on the Zakat calculation date

For example, if you have 100g of 18K gold, you would calculate as follows:

• Purity Percentage = 18/24
• True Grammage = 100 x Purity Percentage
• Value = True Grammage x Current Value of Gold (per gram)
• Zakat Due on Jewelry = Value x 2.5%

Nisab is the minimum threshold of wealth a person must own at which Zakat becomes payable. Nisab for gold is 20 Dinar or 85 grams and the Nisab for silver is 200 dirhams or 595 grams. Most scholars prefer the lower value (silver Nisab) be used because this results in more people paying Zakat and more people getting assistance from Zakat.

It is necessary that the ownership of the water well is transferred to the zakat beneficiaries. If the ownership is not transferred, Zakat will not be validly discharged.