Owed or offered
Zakat or sadaqah: telling them apart
One is a duty with fixed rules, the other a free gift. How to tell which you are giving, and why it matters.
Zakat or sadaqah, in one line
Zakat is owed once a lunar year on savings above the nisab (Quran 9:103). Sadaqah is anything you give beyond it, freely.
See the nisab for 2027 in pounds, on gold and on silver.
Zakat and sadaqah side by side
| Question | Zakat | Sadaqah |
|---|---|---|
| Owed? | Yes, once a lunar year (Sunan Ibn Majah 1792) | No |
| How much? | 2.5% above the nisab (Sahih al-Bukhari 1454) | Any amount |
| Who receives it? | Eight groups only (Quran 9:60) | Anyone, any good cause |
| Your own family? | Not those you must already support | Yes, and it counts twice (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 658) |
| Other faiths? | Most scholars: no, bar one group (Quran 9:60) | Yes (Sahih al-Bukhari 2620) |
Giving zakat and sadaqah well
- Work out your zakat with a zakat calculator.
- Ask a charity for its zakat policy, and whether zakat has its own fund.
- Ask if zakat pays running costs: scholars differ on “those employed to collect it” (Quran 9:60).
- Name each gift as zakat or sadaqah when you give, and keep a note.