What Is Zakat?
According to the Ahnaf (Hanafi jurists), Zakat is the transfer of ownership of a specified portion of specific wealth to an eligible poor Muslim done purely for the sake of Allah. It’s not generosity in the loose sense it’s a precise legal transfer with fixed conditions.
Who Is the Donor of Zakat?
Zakat is owed by a Muslim who is sane, adult (baligh), and free (not enslaved), and who owns wealth above the nisab threshold. A minor or someone of unsound mind is not obligated though scholars differ on whether a guardian pays it from the minor’s wealth.
When Does Zakat Become Fard?
Zakat becomes obligatory when wealth reaches or exceeds the nisab and remains in that person’s possession for one complete lunar year (hawl). Growth in the wealth during the year doesn’t restart the clock, only the original nisab and the completed year matter.
The Qur’anic Basis
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا
“Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase.” (Surah At-Tawbah, 9:103)
Who Receives It?
The Qur’an names eight categories directly:
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ
“Zakat expenditures are only for the poor, the needy, those employed to collect it, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, those in bondage, the debt-ridden, the cause of Allah, and the stranded traveler.” (Surah At-Tawbah, 9:60)
A Hadith in Sunan Abi Dawud adds weight to this: the Prophet ﷺ said Allah did not leave even a prophet to decide who deserves Zakat, He ruled on it Himself in eight cases.
The Rate
The standard rate on qualifying wealth (gold, silver, cash, business stock) is 2.5%, calculated once the lunar year on that wealth is complete.
