Zakat on Gold: Nisab in Tola and Grams, 2.5% Rule, Examples

Zakat on gold is 2.5% of the value of the pure gold you own, once your zakatable wealth has stayed at or above the nisab for a full lunar year. The gold nisab is 7.5 tola, or about 87.48 grams of pure gold. If you also have cash or savings, most South Asian scholars compare your combined wealth with the lower silver nisab instead.

That’s the rule in two sentences. The practical questions are harder: how to value 22-karat jewellery, whether the gold you wear counts, and what to do about years you missed. This guide works through each with real numbers. To do the sums for your own wealth, use the zakat calculator.

The gold nisab in tola and grams

The nisab for gold comes from the hadith as 20 mithqal. Converted to modern units:

The two gram figures differ because people use slightly different weights for the mithqal. The gap is about 3%, and either is used in good faith. A tola is 11.6638 grams; if you want to convert jeweller’s weights in tola, masha and ratti, see our tola to grams guide.

The nisab is measured in pure (24-karat) gold. 7.5 tola of 22-karat jewellery is less than the nisab, because only 22/24 of it is gold.

Step 1: Work out the pure gold you own

Jewellery is rarely pure gold. Multiply the weight by the karat purity:

21K is common in Pakistan and the Gulf, 22K in Pakistan and India, 18K in diamond and European jewellery. The karat is usually stamped inside a ring or on a bangle’s clasp, and written on the jeweller’s receipt.

Weigh only the gold. Stones, beads, lacquer and the wax inside hollow bangles are not gold. A jeweller can tell you the net gold weight. Diamonds and other gems are not zakatable unless you hold them as stock for trade.

Step 2: Value it on your zakat date

Use the price of gold on the day your zakat is due, not the price you paid. Two common approaches:

• Pure gold value: pure weight × today’s 24K price. This is the approach in the examples below and in our calculator.
• Resale value: what a jeweller would actually pay you today. Some scholars prefer this because it’s what the gold is really worth to you. It’s usually a little lower.

Don’t add making charges (labour). You paid them when you bought, but you would not get them back if you sold.

Ask your local sarafa (gold market) association, a jeweller or your bank for the day’s rate. Prices move daily, so the figures in this guide are only examples. The gold price calculator converts a 24K rate into 22K, 21K and 18K prices per tola and per gram.

Step 3: Check the nisab and pay 2.5%

If the total is below the nisab, no zakat is due. If it’s at or above, pay 2.5% of the whole amount, not just the part above the nisab.

Worked example 1: jewellery only, in Pakistan

Sana owns 12 tola of 22K jewellery and has no cash savings to speak of. Suppose 24K gold is Rs 400,000 per tola on her zakat date.

1. Pure gold: 12 × 22/24 = 11 tola.
2. Nisab check: 11 tola is above the gold nisab of 7.5 tola, so zakat is due.
3. Value: 11 × Rs 400,000 = Rs 4,400,000.
4. Zakat: 2.5% × Rs 4,400,000 = Rs 110,000.

Because her wealth is only gold, nearly all scholars use the gold nisab here, and so does Pakistan’s Zakat and Ushr Ordinance.

Worked example 2: gold plus savings

Bilal’s wife owns 5 tola of 21K gold, and the couple keeps savings in her name of Rs 300,000. Gold is again Rs 400,000 per tola.

1. Pure gold: 5 × 21/24 = 4.375 tola, worth Rs 1,750,000.
2. Total wealth: Rs 1,750,000 + Rs 300,000 = Rs 2,050,000.
3. The gold alone is below 7.5 tola. But with cash added, scholars who use the silver nisab for mixed wealth compare the total with 52.5 tola of silver. For 1447 AH, Pakistan’s government notified that nisab at Rs 503,529 (SBP circular). Rs 2,050,000 is well above it.
4. Zakat: 2.5% × Rs 2,050,000 = Rs 51,250.

If her family follows scholars who use the gold nisab for everything, the total is compared with 7.5 tola of gold (Rs 3,000,000 at this price). Then no zakat would be due. The choice of nisab only decides whether zakat is due; the rate is always 2.5%.

Worked example 3: in grams and dirhams

Aisha in Dubai owns 150 g of 18K jewellery and AED 20,000 in savings. Suppose 24K gold is AED 400 per gram.

1. Pure gold: 150 × 18/24 = 112.5 g, worth AED 45,000.
2. Gold alone is above the 87.48 g nisab.
3. Total: AED 45,000 + AED 20,000 = AED 65,000.
4. Zakat: AED 1,625.

Does the gold I wear count?

This is the biggest difference of opinion, and it affects many families.

• Hanafi school (most Muslims in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Turkey): zakat is due on all gold and silver, including jewellery worn every day.
• Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali schools (common in the Gulf, North and West Africa, Malaysia and Indonesia): jewellery that is permissible and worn regularly for personal adornment is generally exempt. Gold kept as savings, bars, coins, or jewellery far beyond normal use is still zakatable.

Many people who follow an exempting view still pay on jewellery as a precaution. Follow the scholar or school you trust; if you’re unsure, ask. If your view exempts worn jewellery, simply leave it out when you enter your gold in the calculator.

Whose zakat is it?

Zakat is owed by the owner of the gold. Jewellery given to a wife at her wedding (as mahr or as a gift) is hers, so the zakat is hers too. A husband may pay it on her behalf with her permission. Gold that parents keep for a daughter’s future wedding belongs to whoever owns it now, usually the parents.

Missed years

If you didn’t pay zakat on gold for earlier years, scholars generally say you should work out and pay each missed year. A practical approach is to estimate the weight you owned each year and use that year’s gold price, reducing the total each year by the zakat that should have been paid. If records are lost, make a careful estimate that errs on the generous side.

Choosing your zakat date

Zakat follows the Islamic (Hijri) calendar. The year is about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year, so your date moves earlier each Gregorian year. Many people in Pakistan use 1 Ramadan, the day banks deduct zakat from savings accounts. The Hijri date converter shows the matching Gregorian date.

FAQ

How much gold do I need before zakat is due?

7.5 tola, or about 87.48 grams, of pure gold, if gold is your only zakatable wealth. If you also have cash or other assets, many scholars use the silver nisab for the combined total, which is a much lower threshold.

Is zakat due on 22 carat jewellery?

Yes, on the pure gold it contains. Multiply the weight by 22 ÷ 24 (91.67%) to find the pure gold, then value it at today’s 24K price. Whether jewellery you wear is included depends on your school of thought.

Is zakat calculated on the purchase price or today’s price?

Today’s price, on your zakat date. What you paid years ago doesn’t matter, and making charges are not included.

Do I pay zakat on gold if I have a loan?

Debts due now, such as this month’s instalment or a bill, are deducted from your wealth first. For long-term loans like a mortgage, most scholars allow you to deduct only the part currently due.

Sources

• Pakistan Code: Zakat and Ushr Ordinance, 1980 (definition of nisab, First Schedule)
• State Bank of Pakistan: BPRD Circular Letter No. 03 of 2026, nisab for 1447 AH
• National Zakat Foundation: nisab values

This guide explains the general rules. For your own situation, especially business assets or shared family gold, ask a qualified scholar.