Question 1

Silver standard vs Gold standard — which should I use?

Accepted Answer

Scholars differ on whether Zakat should be based on the gold or silver nisab. In the past, gold and silver were close in value. Today, silver is much cheaper, which makes the silver nisab much lower than the gold nisab.

Those who prefer the silver nisab (including many Hanafi scholars) say it is better because more people will qualify to pay Zakat, which helps more poor people.

Those who prefer the gold nisab say gold better reflects real wealth in today's economy.

In practice, many contemporary scholars suggest using the silver nisab because it is the safer and more cautious option, ensuring that more people fulfil their Zakat duty.

Question 2

Why does this tool use 595g of silver and not 612.36g?

Accepted Answer

Both figures are valid scholarly positions based on different estimates of the classical dirham weight:

• 595g: based on 1 dirham = 2.975g × 200 dirhams, adopted by AAOIFI and many contemporary scholars.
• 612.36g: based on a slightly higher classical estimate sometimes cited in older Hanafi texts.

This tool uses 595g as it aligns with the majority contemporary scholarly consensus and established Islamic finance standards. The difference is approximately 2.8%.

Question 3

What is the gold nisab and why is there a 85g vs 87.48g difference?

Accepted Answer

The gold nisab is 20 dinars. Most contemporary scholars use 85g (1 dinar = 4.25g × 20), as adopted by AAOIFI and widely cited institutions. A minority position uses 87.48g based on a slightly different classical dinar weight. This tool uses 85g when gold standard support is added.

Question 4

What is the nisab in local currency today?

Accepted Answer

The nisab in local currency changes daily because it depends on the current silver (or gold) spot price, multiplied by the prevailing exchange rate. There is no fixed rupee, dollar, or pound figure. This is exactly why this tool works from actual historical prices on each date in your bank statement rather than using a fixed number.

Question 5

What is a hawl?

Accepted Answer

The hawl is a complete lunar year (approximately 354 days) that must pass with your wealth above nisab¹. Zakat becomes due on each annual anniversary of the date your wealth first reached nisab.

¹ Difference of opinion exists between the madhabs:

• Hanafi view: Zakat is due if wealth is at or above nisab at the start and end of the year. Temporary drops during the year are ignored (unless wealth falls to zero or negative).

• Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali view: Wealth must stay at or above nisab for the entire year. If it drops below at any point, the year resets, and a new hawl begins only when wealth returns to nisab.

Question 6

What is the primary difference between the four madhabs on Zakat?

Accepted Answer

The main practical difference between the madhabs is how they define the hawl — not which nisab standard they use. Specifically, the question is: does wealth need to stay continuously above nisab throughout the entire lunar year, or only at the beginning and end?

• Hanafi: Continuous maintenance not required. Only start and end matter.
• Maliki: Continuous maintenance required. Any drop resets the clock.
• Shafi'i: Continuous maintenance required.
• Hanbali: Predominantly requires continuous maintenance, though some scholars permit temporary drops.

All four madhabs agree on the 2.5% rate and the hawl requirement in principle. The gold vs silver question is a separate scholarly debate that cuts across madhab lines.

Question 7

Do I need to track whether my balance stayed above nisab every day?

Accepted Answer

Under the Hanafi position, no — you only need to know that you were above nisab on the date you first crossed (your nisab date) and on each annual hawl anniversary. Under the Maliki/Shafi'i/Hanbali position, strictly yes — any drop below nisab resets the year.

In practice, most scholars advise that if you were continuously employed with regular salary income and your wealth did not drop to zero, the continuous nisab requirement is likely met. If in doubt, consult a local scholar.

Question 8

Why can't I just pay Zakat every Ramadan?

Accepted Answer

You can — and paying early is generally accepted by scholars. However, Ramadan is almost certainly not your actual Zakat due date unless your wealth happened to cross nisab for the first time on the 1st of Ramadan.

The issue is accuracy: Zakat is 2.5% of your zakatable wealth on the specific day your hawl completes. If you calculate it on a random Ramadan date, you may be using the wrong balance. The difference may be small, but since Zakat is a precise religious obligation (Fard), using your accurate date ensures you are fulfilling it correctly.

Question 9

My Zakat date is in Hijri — how does this tool convert it?

Accepted Answer

The tool uses the Umm al-Qura calendar (the official Saudi Islamic calendar) via the browser's Intl API to perform accurate Hijri ↔ Gregorian conversions. When you enter a Hijri date or when a crossing date is found, the tool adds exactly one Hijri year (not a fixed number of days) to compute hawl anniversaries. This is more accurate than the old approximation of 354.37 days per year, which could drift by 1–2 days over time.

Question 10

How accurate are the hawl dates shown?

Accepted Answer

Hawl dates are calculated by adding an exact Hijri year to the crossing date using the Umm al-Qura calendar. This is accurate to within 0–1 days. The Umm al-Qura calendar is calculation-based rather than moon-sighting-based, so if your local community uses physical moon sighting (ruʾyat al-hilal), your date may differ by up to 1–2 days.

Question 11

What file formats are supported?

Accepted Answer

PDF, CSV, and XLSX (Excel) bank statements are supported. For PDFs, the statement must be text-based (not a scanned image). If you receive scanned PDFs, export your statement as CSV from your online banking portal — CSV parsing is more reliable and less prone to layout-based errors.

Question 12

Is my bank statement data stored anywhere?

Accepted Answer

No. Your file is parsed entirely in server memory and immediately discarded after processing. No transaction history, account numbers, balances, or personal data is ever written to disk, logged, or stored. The tool is stateless — each upload is processed fresh.

Question 13

The tool found a crossing date but I think it's wrong — what should I do?

Accepted Answer

This can happen if: (1) the PDF has an unusual layout causing the parser to misread balances as transaction amounts, (2) your selected currency does not match the statement, or (3) the silver/FX rate data has a gap on certain dates. Try: switching to CSV export for more reliable parsing, verifying the currency selection, or checking whether the chart shows any obvious spikes that indicate a parsing error.

Question 14

Can I add assets that are not in my bank account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. On the results page (Step 3), there is a "Refine Your Wealth" panel. Enter additional zakatable assets (gold, investments, trade goods) and outstanding debts in your local currency. The tool adds these to every balance data point and recalculates the crossing date dynamically. You can adjust the figures until you find your accurate nisab date.

Question 15

I already know my Zakat date — can I still use this tool?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In Step 1, select "I already have a Nisab date (Hijri)" and enter your known date. The tool will convert it to the Gregorian calendar and check, in your uploaded bank statement, whether your wealth was above or below nisab on that date's hawl anniversary — confirming whether Zakat was obligatory in that year.

Question 16

My wealth dropped below nisab mid-year — is Zakat still due?

Accepted Answer

Under the Hanafi position, as long as your wealth was above nisab at the start of the hawl and on the completion date, Zakat is still due (unless wealth fell to zero or negative during the year). Under the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali positions, the year resets when wealth drops below nisab. This tool currently implements the Hanafi approach. If you follow another madhab, treat any period below nisab as resetting your clock.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nisab — Gold vs Silver

The Hawl & Madhab Differences

Your Zakat Date

Using This Tool