How We Calculate — Methodology & Data Sources
By the Editorial Team · reviewed against our sources · updated September 2026 · guidance, not a fatwa
In short: our calculators use the classical nisab weights, the 2.5% Zakat rate and the fixed Qur’anic inheritance shares, with live gold, silver and exchange-rate data refreshed twice a day. Every figure is transparent and you can check it against your local prices.
Nisab
Nisab — the threshold at which Zakat becomes due — is 87.48 grams of gold (20 mithqāl) or 612.36 grams of silver (200 dirhams). We convert these weights to your currency using the live metal price per gram. We default to and recommend the silver nisab because it is lower and so benefits more recipients, while letting you switch to the gold standard.
Live prices & exchange rates
Gold and silver spot prices are pulled from a market-data provider and converted to a per-gram figure (troy ounce ÷ 31.1035). To show nisab in your own currency, we apply live USD exchange rates. Both feeds refresh every 12 hours. Market prices move constantly, so treat our figures as an accurate reference and confirm against your local bullion price for large amounts. Each calculator shows the date its prices were last updated.
Zakat
Zakat is 2.5% of your net zakatable wealth — zakatable assets (cash, gold, silver, savings, business stock, receivables, zakatable investments) minus debts due — once that total exceeds nisab and has been held for one lunar year (hawl).
Inheritance (Faraid)
Our inheritance calculator applies the fixed Qur’anic shares (fard) for the common heirs — spouse, sons, daughters, father and mother — then distributes any remainder to the residuary heirs (ʿasaba, with a son receiving twice a daughter’s share). It correctly applies proportional reduction (ʿawl), the return of surplus to sharers (radd), and the spouse-with-both-parents (ʿUmariyyatān) adjustment. Estates involving grandparents, grandchildren, siblings as sole heirs or no direct heirs are deliberately out of scope and should go to a qualified scholar or Sharia court.
How we handle differences between schools (madhhab)
Where the four Sunni schools differ — for example Zakat on gold jewellery worn regularly, or how debts are deducted — we state the difference plainly rather than silently picking one. The calculator’s madhhab selector adjusts the guidance shown.
What we do not do
- We do not issue fatwas or give personalised religious rulings.
- We do not collect donations or take a cut of your Zakat.
- We do not store the figures you enter — the calculators run in your browser.
See our editorial policy, the sources we rely on, and our corrections policy.