Table of Contents
Introduction
Zakah is only obligatory when certain conditions are met. These conditions protect the poor from being wronged and protect the giver from being burdened unfairly. In this chapter we focus only on the general conditions that make zakah due on a person and on their wealth, without going into the specific rules of each type of wealth, which will be discussed elsewhere.
Allah commanded zakah as an obligation, not a choice, upon those who meet these conditions. He said:
“And establish prayer and give zakah, and bow with those who bow (in worship and obedience).”
(Qur’an 2:43)
The Prophet ﷺ also confirmed that it is only required from those who possess a minimum amount of wealth. He said about Islam:
“That you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer, give the zakah…”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
Zakah is not due on every person, nor on every type or amount of wealth. It becomes obligatory only when the conditions below are fulfilled.
Zakah is only obligatory when its conditions are met. If even one essential condition is missing, zakah is not required.
Condition 1: Islam
Zakah is a duty upon Muslims only. A non‑Muslim is not addressed with the practical obligation of zakah in this life, although they will be questioned in the Hereafter about accepting faith and all that comes with it.
Allah describes zakah as a characteristic of the believers:
“But if they repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, then they are your brothers in religion.”
(Qur’an 9:11)
This verse links zakah to those who have entered Islam. The Prophet ﷺ, when he sent Muʿādh to Yemen, said:
“Inform them that Allah has obligated upon them a charity (ṣadaqah) to be taken from their rich and given back to their poor.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī)
He spoke about “their” rich and “their” poor, meaning the Muslims of that community. Therefore, a person must be Muslim for zakah to be obligatory.
Condition 2: Freedom and Legal Capacity
Classically, jurists mentioned freedom as a condition, meaning that the slave did not pay zakah, because he did not own wealth fully. Slavery has been closed in our age, so this condition now has mainly a historical value. What remains relevant is the idea of full legal capacity over one’s wealth.
In practice this means that:
The person must be legally capable of ownership. Their wealth is recognized as their own in Islamic law.
If a person is extremely mentally incapable and cannot manage their affairs, scholars differ about the zakah of their wealth, but the stronger opinion is that zakah is still taken from their wealth if it reaches the conditions, because zakah is a right of the poor attached to the property itself, not only to the person. This is supported by the general command:
“Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase…”
(Qur’an 9:103)
The verse links the obligation to “their wealth,” which shows that the duty follows the wealth when the other conditions are met.
Condition 3: Complete Ownership (Al‑Milk at‑Tām)
For zakah to be due, a person must have full, stable ownership of the wealth. This is sometimes called “complete possession.” It means the following.
The wealth truly belongs to the person, not just temporarily or on trust.
They have control over it and can dispose of it, spend it, or invest it.
There is no serious doubt that they will receive it, in the case of money owed to them.
Allah mentions spending “out of that which We have provided for them”:
“…and they spend out of what We have provided for them.”
(Qur’an 2:3)
What Allah has “provided” for a person in this sense is what they truly possess. Based on this, the following are examples of complete and incomplete ownership:
Money that is in your hand or bank account in your name is under your full control. This is complete ownership.
A salary that you are promised but have not yet received is not fully yours until it is actually due and in your control, especially if there is uncertainty about receiving it.
Property that you hold as a trustee or manager, such as charity funds, company funds, or money you keep for someone else, does not belong to you. You have no zakah on it, because you are not its owner.
If ownership is disputed in court and your possession is not yet confirmed, then zakah is not due until the dispute is resolved and full ownership is established.
Zakah is only due on wealth that a person truly owns and can control, not on money they merely hold for others or might receive in the future.
Condition 4: The Wealth Must Reach the Niṣāb
Niṣāb is the minimum amount of wealth that makes zakah obligatory. If a person owns less than this amount, they are not required to pay zakah. This niṣāb is different for different types of wealth, such as gold, silver, cash, or livestock, and will be detailed in the specific chapters that follow.
The principle of niṣāb is taken from several prophetic teachings. Regarding gold and silver, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“There is no zakah on less than five awāq (of silver).”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
And about some types of livestock he said:
“There is no zakah on less than five camels.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī)
These narrations show that there is a lower limit, below which zakah is not due. The wisdom is that very small amounts of wealth are not burdened with this obligation.
The same principle applies to trade goods and cash, which today are measured in practice by comparing them to the niṣāb of gold or silver. The details of how to calculate niṣāb for each category belong to later chapters.
If a person’s wealth does not reach the niṣāb, no zakah is obligatory on that wealth.
Condition 5: Passage of One Lunar Year (Ḥawl)
For most types of zakatable wealth, the condition is that a full lunar year, about 354 days, must pass while the wealth remains at or above the niṣāb. This is called ḥawl.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There is no zakah on wealth until a year has passed over it.”
(Sunan Ibn Mājah, graded ḥasan)
The idea is that the wealth must be stable, not just something that appears for a few days and disappears. Some important clarifications about this condition are:
The year is calculated according to the Islamic (Hijri) lunar calendar, not the solar one.
The wealth must be at or above the niṣāb at the beginning and at the end of the year. If it drops below niṣāb for a significant time, the year may need to be recalculated, according to many scholars.
Increases during the year, such as profit on trade goods or the birth of young animals, usually follow the original ḥawl of the principal wealth, and are not given a new separate year.
There are specific types of wealth, like agricultural crops and some mined resources, where zakah becomes due at the time of harvest or extraction, without waiting for a year. Allah said about crops:
“And give its due on the day of its harvest…”
(Qur’an 6:141)
Those special cases will be discussed separately when each type of wealth is covered.
For most zakah, a full lunar year must pass while the wealth stays at or above the niṣāb, before zakah becomes obligatory.
Condition 6: The Wealth Is of a Zakatable Type
Not every possession is subject to zakah. Only certain categories of wealth, defined by the Qur’an and Sunnah, are zakatable. These include things like:
Gold and silver and by extension, modern money and savings.
Livestock of specific types in certain numbers.
Commercial goods intended for trade.
Agricultural produce of particular kinds.
Extracted minerals and some other natural resources, according to many scholars.
Allah, for example, mentioned crops and fruits:
“…and give its due on the day of its harvest, and do not be wasteful. Indeed, He does not like the wasteful.”
(Qur’an 6:141)
He also condemned those who hoard gold and silver but do not pay their due:
“And those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend them in the way of Allah, give them tidings of a painful punishment.”
(Qur’an 9:34)
From these and other texts, scholars derived which types of wealth carry zakah. Personal-use items such as your house, your main furniture, your clothes, and what you reasonably need for living are not subject to zakah, because they are not wealth held for growth or trade. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There is no zakah on a Muslim’s slave or his horse.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
This hadith shows that not everything a person owns is automatically zakatable.
The details of each category will be treated in the later chapter on “Types of Wealth Subject to Zakah.” Here the key point is that zakah is not due on all possessions, only on specific, zakatable types.
Condition 7: Freedom from Debts That Cancel the Niṣāb
Debt affects the obligation of zakah, because it reduces what a person truly owns. If debts are so large that, after subtracting what one must pay, the remaining wealth falls below the niṣāb, then zakah is not obligatory according to many scholars.
Zakah is about helping others from one’s surplus. If a person is heavily indebted, he is closer to being needy himself. Allah describes those eligible for zakah as including:
“…and for those in debt (al‑ghārimīn)…”
(Qur’an 9:60)
This shows that the debtor may even receive zakah. How then could he be required to pay it from wealth that is not truly surplus?
The basic principle that many scholars follow is:
The person looks at their net zakatable wealth after considering the debts that are currently due or due soon.
If after accounting for those immediate debts, the remaining zakatable wealth still reaches the niṣāb and stays at that level for a year, zakah is due.
If not, then zakah is not obligatory on that wealth.
There are differences among scholars on exactly how to factor in long‑term debts, like mortgages, but all agree that debt can affect whether the niṣāb is reached. The detailed application belongs to the more advanced discussions of fiqh, but the principle remains that zakah is paid from real surplus ownership.
If debts reduce a person’s net zakatable wealth below the niṣāb, then zakah is not obligatory on that wealth.
Condition 8: Intention (Niyyah) When Paying
The obligation of zakah itself does not depend on intention, because it is attached to wealth and its conditions. However, the correct performance of paying zakah requires a sincere intention for Allah. When a person separates wealth to give as zakah, they must intend that this is the obligatory zakah, not just voluntary charity.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Actions are only by intentions, and every person shall have only what he intended.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al‑Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
Therefore, one may not simply give money to the poor without intending zakah, then later decide to count it as zakah, according to the majority of scholars. The intention must be present at the time of giving, or at least when separating the amount designated as zakah.
Sincerity is also required. The aim must be to seek Allah’s pleasure, not praise from people. This connects the legal obligation of zakah to the inner state of worship and purity of heart.
When paying zakah, a clear intention that this is zakah for Allah’s sake is required for it to be valid.
Summary of the Conditions
The duty of zakah rests on a person only when these main conditions come together:
They are Muslim, with recognized ownership and capacity.
They have complete ownership and control of the wealth.
The wealth reaches the niṣāb.
A full lunar year passes over it, in most cases.
The wealth itself is of a type that carries zakah.
Debts do not reduce their net zakatable wealth below the niṣāb.
They pay with a sincere intention that this is zakah.
Putting these conditions together shows the balance and mercy in the law of zakah. It is not a random tax, but a precise, worshipful duty that applies only when Allah has given a person enough stable wealth that they can share a portion with those in need.