Clarification of the zakat on the two monetary metals
in our present currency
The nisab for gold is twenty Islamic mithqals. One mithqal and two-thirds of a mithqal weigh the same as an English sovereign or a Saudi guinea. Accordingly, the nisab of gold in either of these coins comes to 12 Saudi or English gold pounds, for both coins share the same weight.
The nisab for silver is 200 dirhams. This equals 22 French Riyals or 55 Saudi Riyals.
Clarification of the zakat on grain and fruit
in our current measure
The nisab for grain and fruit is five wasqs; one wasq is sixty Prophetic sāʿs, so the nisab is 300 sāʿs by the Prophetic measure.
The Prophetic sāʿ is smaller than the Ḥijāzī keylah and the Najdī sāʿ by one-fifth and one-fifth of a fifth. Thus the nisab of zakat on grain and fruit, when reckoned by the Najdī sāʿ or the Ḥijāzī keylah, is 228 sāʿs—the same number of keylahs. Allah knows best.
The first ḥadith
Abū Hurayrah reports that the Messenger of Allah said,
“No sadaqah is due from a Muslim on his slave or his horse.” In another wording (1): “—except the zakat al-fiṭr on slaves.”
Overall meaning
We have already noted that zakat rests upon fairness and justice; hence Allah has made it obligatory on the expanding wealth of the affluent and on assets set aside for growth, such as agricultural produce and trade merchandise.
As for property that does not grow and is kept merely for possession and personal use, no zakat is due on it. This includes one’s means of transport—horse, camel, or automobile—one’s servant kept for service, and one’s household furnishings and utensils set aside for use.
The slave’s zakat al-fiṭr is an exception: it remains obligatory even when the slave is not held for trade, because it is connected to the person, not to wealth.
Points derived from the ḥadith
- Zakat is not required on a slave kept for service or on a horse prepared for riding. Ibn al-Qayyim said in