Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

(Islamic Law) niṣāb (نِصاب) is the minimum amount of wealth that a Muslim must have before being obliged to give

zakat Zakat (or Zakāh زكاة) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Zakat is the Arabic word for "Giving to Charity" or "Giving to the Needy". Zakat is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam a relig ...

. Zakat is determined based on the amount of wealth acquired; the greater one's assets, the greater the zakat value. Unlike

taxable income Taxable income refers to the base upon which an income tax system imposes tax. In other words, the income over which the government imposed tax. Generally, it includes some or all items of income and is reduced by expenses and other deductions. T ...

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

states, niṣāb is not subject to special exemptions.

Niṣāb of gold and silver

The value of the niṣāb was originally set at 20 dinār or 200

dirham The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...

. The dinār is a gold coin weighing one

mithqal Mithqāl () is a unit of mass equal to which is mostly used for measuring precious metals, such as gold, and other commodities, like saffron. The name was also applied as an alternative term for the gold dinar, a coin that was used throughout ...

(4.25 grams) and the dirham is a silver coin weighing 0.7 mithqal (2.975 grams). The relation of 20 dinār and 200 dirham reflects the contemporary exchange value between the dinār and the dirham of 1 to 10 in the early days of Islam. Over time, the exchange rate between gold and silver has shifted, so 20 dinār has become more expensive in market value than 200 dirham. Despite this, the definition of niṣāb has not been altered throughout Islamic history. Both values are accepted in Shariah, and so one can choose to pay zakat if his wealth reached the value of either of them. The niṣāb is applicable to the cumulative stock of dinār, dirham and any other zakatable valuables, such as merchandise that has been in store for at least one year. As long as the total value of the zakatable valuables exceeds the value of the niṣāb, zakat must be paid. Some modern scholars have accepted that since dinārs and dirhams are no longer readily available the best solution is to calculate the niṣāb using a mithqal of pure gold as a reference. Although this is not an exact calculation it is considered a valid approximation given current circumstances.

Modern interpretation

The nisab of gold and silver has been interpreted to extend to modern currencies, and the modern value of the nisab is determined each year using the gold and silver exchange rates. Another modern problem regarding nisab is whether to use the value of gold (dinar) or silver (dirham). To overcome this problem, most contemporary jurists follow one of two approaches: # Use gold as an evaluation reference. This is rationalized by the fact that gold is the origin of modern currency, and is considered more precious than silver. # Use whichever satisfies best the interests of the poor.

Niṣāb for livestock

The niṣāb for the three zakatable livestock is as follows: * Cattle (including buffalo, bison, yaks, etc.): thirty animals * Sheep and goats: forty animals * Camels: five animals The

Hanafi school The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

is unique in extending zakat to horses under certain conditions. When it is applicable, there is no nisab and one

is to be paid for each horse. Someone who owns fewer animals than the above nisab is not obliged to pay zakat. Also, the nisab of one kind of animals is not to be mixed with another. For example, having twenty cows and thirty goats would be considered below the nisab as it does not reach the threshold of 30 cows and 40 goats.

Niṣāb for agricultural products

There is consensus among Muslim jurists that zakat is applicable to dates, grapes, wheat and barley. According to the majority opinion, zakat is also applicable to staples which could be stored like: corn, rice, lentils, dry peas and dry beans, while it is not applicable to fruits and vegetables like cucumbers, zucchini, onions, oranges and apricots. The Hanafi school applies zakat on all agricultural produce according to the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa. According to Imam

Abu Yusuf Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim al-Ansari (), better known as Abu Yusuf () (729–798) was an Islamic jurist, as well as a student of Abu Hanifa (d.767) and Malik ibn Anas (d.795), who helped spread the influence of the Hanafi school of Islamic law, and w ...

and Muhamad bin Al Hasan, it only applies to plants whose produce can last (through storage) for a year. When zakat applies to a plant, the nisab is five ''Wasaq''. Each wasaq is valued as sixty ''Sa. Contemporary equivalency of Sa' according to one approximation is 2.03 liters. Therefore, the total nisab for agricultural produce is 609.84 kg.{{cite book, last1=Ibn al-Naqīb, first2=Aḥmad, last2=ibn Luʼluʼ, url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/780082934, title=Reliance of the traveller : the classic manual of Islamic sacred law, year=1999, orig-year=1994, publisher=Amana Publications, isbn=0-915957-72-8, oclc=780082934

References

Islamic jurisprudence Islamic economic jurisprudence Arabic words and phrases in Sharia Sharia legal terminology