Zakat on Silver: Nisab (612.36g), Per-Tola Rate & How to Calculate

Gold gets all the attention, but silver is where Zakat's threshold actually sits for most households. The Prophet ﷺ set the silver Nisab at five awaq — fixed by scholars at 612.36 grams— and because silver is far cheaper than gold, this is the threshold that brings most people's wealth into Zakat. Here is how to handle silver correctly, whether it is jewellery in a drawer or the benchmark for your cash.

The Silver Nisab

Weight: 612.36 grams of silver.
In tola (the unit used across Pakistan): 1 tola = 11.664g, so the Nisab is 52.5 tola.
Value: silver prices move daily — multiply your weight by today's per-gram or per-tola rate, or check our live Nisab page.

Once your silver (or combined zakatable wealth) sits at or above this line for a full lunar year — the hawl — Zakat is due at 2.5%.

Silver Jewellery: The Ruling

The Hanafi position, dominant in Pakistan and among much of the UK diaspora, is that silver jewellery is zakatable even when worn — exactly as with gold jewellery. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools exempt jewellery in ordinary personal use. Follow your own school consistently; if in doubt, paying is the safer course, and the poor benefit either way.

Worked Example

A household owns 60 tola of silver jewellery. That exceeds the 52.5 tola Nisab, so the whole amount is zakatable. Value: 60 tola × today's per-tola silver rate = market value. Zakat = market value × 2.5%. Note it is the metal value that counts — making charges and craftsmanship are ignored.

Why Silver Sets the Bar for Cash Too

The silver Nisab is worth far less than the gold Nisab. When your wealth is mixed — cash, savings, some gold, some silver — most scholars advise measuring against the silver Nisab, because the lower threshold makes Zakat due sooner and delivers more to the poor. In the Hanafi school, gold, silver and cash are combined by value for this test.

How to Pay

You don't hand over the silver itself — you pay 2.5% of its value in cash. Work out your full position with our step-by-step guide or the free Zakat calculator, then give where it reaches verified eligible recipients.

This guide reflects widely held scholarly positions and is not a personal fatwa.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much silver requires Zakat?

The Nisab for silver is 612.36 grams — about 52.5 tola. If you own silver at or above this weight (or your combined zakatable wealth reaches the silver Nisab by value) and a lunar year has passed, Zakat is due at 2.5% of its current market value.

Is Zakat due on silver jewellery that I wear?

In the Hanafi school — followed by most Pakistani and many UK households — yes: silver jewellery is zakatable even if worn regularly. Some other schools exempt personal-use jewellery; follow your school consistently.

How do I calculate Zakat on silver?

Weigh your silver, multiply by today's silver price per gram (or per tola) to get the market value, and pay 2.5% of that value — provided your total wealth is at or above Nisab and has been for one lunar year.

Why do scholars recommend the silver Nisab for cash?

Because silver's Nisab is worth much less than gold's, using it makes Zakat obligatory on more people — which benefits the poor. Most scholars therefore advise measuring mixed wealth (cash, savings, mixed metals) against the silver Nisab as the safer position.

I have some gold and some silver — how do I combine them?

In the Hanafi school, gold, silver and cash are combined by value. If the total reaches the silver Nisab value, Zakat is due on the whole at 2.5%, even if neither metal reaches its own weight threshold alone.

Zakat on Silver: Nisab, Per-Tola Rate & How to Calculate