Nisab / Zakat Minimum Threshold (نِصَاب)

Definition

Nisab (نِصَاب) — literally "origin, basis, minimum amount" — is the minimum quantity of wealth below which zakat is not obligatory. Each category of zakatable asset has its own nisab, determined by the Prophet (PBUH): 20 dinars of gold (approximately 85 grams), 200 dirhams of silver (approximately 595 grams), 5 wasaq of crops (approximately 653 kg), and the various livestock thresholds. Nisab ensures that zakat falls only on those with genuine surplus wealth, not on those barely meeting their basic needs. Qaradawi discusses nisab in detail in Fiqh al-Zakah and Approaching the Sunnah, where he addresses the modern problem of two different nisabs for gold and silver and argues for unifying the monetary nisab based on gold. ^

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