Fatwa regarding considering gold as the nisab for paper currency, trade goods, company shares, and the like.

Question:
I have received several inquiries and questions regarding considering gold as the nisab for paper currency, trade goods, company shares, and the like. Is the nisab of gold still the standard given the significant increase in gold prices? Is it possible to rely on the nisab of silver or something else?

Answer:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, and upon his pure family and noble companions, and upon all who followed their guidance until the Day of Judgment.
Thereafter:

Indeed, Allah Almighty has legislated Zakat for two great and comprehensive purposes, which are:
The first purpose: To achieve pure and sincere worship of Allah Almighty, by purifying the hearts of the wealthy from greed and avarice, and purifying the hearts of the poor from envy and social resentment, along with similar things. This is to achieve cooperative Islamic brotherhood. Allah Almighty says: (But if they repent, establish prayer, and give Zakat, then they are your brothers in religion.) (Surah At-Tawbah: 11).
The second purpose: To meet the needs of the poor, develop them, and lift them out of dire poverty, bringing them to a state of self-sufficiency and then to a better standard of living. This social dimension certainly includes all matters related to da'wah (calling to Islam) and striving in the path of Allah.
These two purposes represent the two scales of the balance of Zakat which the Holy Quran mentioned in a divine statement: (Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them to increase, and invoke [Allah's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.) (Surah At-Tawbah: 103).

From this, we understand that Zakat is not a tax imposed by the state or by the wealthy upon themselves; rather, Zakat is a precise cooperative financial system that respects the rights of the poor along with the rights of the wealthy, and the interests of all in this world and the hereafter, while also serving the benefit of society and the state.

It is clear that the nisab for most Zakat-eligible assets has been determined by authentic narrations, such as the nisabs for agricultural produce, livestock, and gold and silver themselves. Here, the discussion revolves more around trade goods and contemporary developments, such as paper currency and other similar things.

*Scholars have agreed on Zakat for trade goods, to the extent that a consensus of early scholars has been reported on it. Ibn al-Mundhir said: "All scholars agree that Zakat is obligatory on trade goods if a year passes over them." Based on this, we will discuss the scholars' opinions regarding the nisab for trade goods: should it be valued by gold, silver, or something else?
To answer this, we say:

Trade goods are valued at their market price on the day a year passes over them, and scholars are in agreement on this. The point of divergence is: should they be valued by gold, silver, or something else?
Here, scholars have diverged into several opinions, the most prominent of which are:

The first opinion: Values it by what is most beneficial for the poor, whether gold, silver, or something else. This is a strong narration from Abu Hanifa. It is stated in Al-Quduri's "Al-Tajrid" (d. 428 AH): "...because we value goods by what is most beneficial for the poor, and sometimes the benefit was in the goods themselves..." Al-Marghinani confirmed this with the statement: "Zakat is obligatory on trade goods if their value reaches the nisab of gold, or paper... it is valued by what is most beneficial for the poor, for the sake of protecting the rights of the poor, according to Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him..." This is also the opinion of the Hanbalis, as they held that it should be valued by what is most beneficial for the poor, whether gold or silver.

The second opinion: Values it by the dominant currency of the country in all circumstances. This is the opinion of Muhammad, the companion of Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on them), and the Shafi'ites also lean towards this, and it is also the saying of Abu Ishaq.

The third opinion: Values it by what it was purchased with, if purchased with currency; otherwise, it is valued by the dominant currency of the country. This is the opinion of Abu Yusuf.

The fourth opinion: Values it by the currency it was purchased with, generally, whether it was the dominant currency of the country or not. This is the Maliki school of thought.

The fifth opinion: Valuation by sale. Al-Qarafi said: "If we say by valuation, then what is sold for gold is valued by gold, and what is mostly sold for silver is valued by silver, because it is the consumption value. If it is sold for both and they are equal for Zakat, then one has a choice." Otherwise, Ibn al-Qasim said: "The basis for Zakat is silver; value it by that. If we say both are bases, then Abu Hanifa and Ibn Hanbal said: what is most beneficial for the poor is considered, because the valuation is for their sake."

The Stronger and Preferred Opinion:
What the balance necessitates is the estimation of the nisab for trade goods and our paper currencies by what is most beneficial, best, and most advantageous for the poor, but with one condition: that the estimation does not deviate from the purpose that Sharia has in setting the nisab. The purpose is to differentiate between the needy poor and those who have moved out of the circle of necessity into the circle of wealth. This condition is for achieving comprehensive justice in Islam, both for the rich and the poor, and for protecting small assets from bearing financial burdens like Zakat, so that they may grow and reach the nisab level. The eminent scholar Al-Dahlawi, in "The Wisdom in the Obligation of Nisab for Every Kind," made an excellent point summarized by saying that owning the nisab for a year leads to surpassing the threshold of poverty and enables one to sustain oneself for approximately a year.

Even the Prophet (peace be upon him) clarified this, saying: "Charity comes only from beyond wealth." The term "charity" here refers to comprehensive charity, including Zakat and other forms. Imam Bukhari titled this chapter "No charity except from beyond wealth" (لا صدقة إلا عن ظهر غنى). He then narrated, with his own chain of transmission, from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "The best charity is that which comes from beyond wealth..." It was also narrated in another, more definitive wording: "No charity except from beyond wealth." These hadiths clearly indicate that obligatory charity (Zakat) begins with wealth, and whoever owns the nisab for a full year (a year has passed over it) has entered into this realm.

Based on this, most contemporary scholars have relied on the nisab of gold, which is twenty mithqals (a dinar), which, according to contemporary weights, amounts to (85) grams of pure gold of 24 carat, i.e., 999% pure gold. This is because they considered that the value of (85) grams of pure gold in the early years of 1985-1990 was approximately (2000) US dollars. Then, in the early years of 2000-2023, it ranged between 3000 and 5000 or 6000 US dollars, which is very reasonable and includes justice for both the poor and the rich. It is known that the nisab of silver is (200) dirhams, which equals (595) grams of pure silver. The price of one ounce of silver from 1989 to 2022 ranged between (5.50) and (6.00) US dollars, meaning the price of one gram of pure silver ranged between (0.18) and (0.19) US cents. If we multiply (595) grams, which is the nisab of silver, by (0.19) cents, the result is (113.05), meaning (113) dollars and five cents. This is a very small amount that does not lead to wealth, nor does it form a boundary between poverty and wealth.

Therefore, the nisab of silver has not been relied upon for trade goods and paper currencies in this period. The soundness of this choice is evident in that the price of silver – during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) – was approximately one-tenth the price of gold. Hence, the nisab of gold was twenty mithqals (a dinar), and the nisab of silver was (200) dirhams, meaning every ten dirhams equaled one dinar. The equation was precise, and for this reason, the diya (blood money) was one thousand dinars in gold and ten thousand dirhams in silver. Yes, it increased by 20% at one stage, reaching (12,000) dirhams, and also decreased by the same percentage, becoming (8,000) dirhams, which was a reasonable and acceptable ratio. However, if the difference between them reaches several multiples, then silver deviates from the standard and the equation. Therefore, its nisab has not been relied upon in recent contracts.

However, on 28/01/2026, the price of one gram of pure 24-carat gold was (647.73) Qatari riyals. This means the value of its nisab (85 grams of pure gold) amounts to (55057) Qatari riyals. This is a very large amount, and therefore I believe it is necessary to reconsider this.

But the price of one gram of pure silver on 28/01/2026 was (2.57) US dollars. If we multiply it by (595) grams, it equals (1529) US dollars, which is equivalent to (5580) Qatari riyals. This amount is less than the nisab for camels: five camels, whose value is approximately (20,000) Qatari riyals; and (40) sheep, whose value is approximately (40,000) Qatari riyals; and (30) cows, whose value is approximately (180,000) Qatari riyals. However, in the best-case scenario, it is more than the nisab for wheat, which is the dominant staple food in most Muslim countries, indeed most countries in the world. We calculated the average price of 670 kg of Qatari wheat for the entire year 2025 to be approximately (2000) Qatari riyals, which is less than the nisab of silver. This supports the direction towards the nisab of silver.

Therefore, through this detailed presentation, we see that what is adopted for this Hijri year (1447 AH) and thereafter is the nisab of silver, which is (5580) five thousand five hundred and eighty Qatari riyals, equivalent to (1529) US dollars.

From a jurisprudential perspective, it is known that the calculation of Zakat for trade goods begins with the following steps:

First: Calculating all cash, gold, and silver at their value on the day a year passes over them. Ibn Qudamah said: "Gold and silver are combined, and their nisab is completed thereby."

Second: Calculating all goods displayed for sale at their market value; if sold in bulk, then at the wholesale price; otherwise, at the retail price.

Third: Calculating all anticipated debts that the merchant expects to recover.

Fourth: Subtracting all debts related to trade goods.

Then, if the amount reaches the nisab, (5580) Qatari riyals or (1529) US dollars, and a year has passed over it, Zakat becomes obligatory at a rate of 2.5%; otherwise, Zakat is not obligatory. The nisab for trade goods and paper currencies is equivalent to (5580) Qatari riyals or (1529) US dollars. It is important that this calculation is based on the current value of silver; if its value changes, that change must be taken into account.

Written by the needy servant of his Lord,
Professor Dr. Ali Muhyiddin Qaradaghi
1st of Sha'ban 1447 AH – corresponding to 03/02/2026 AD