“How do I even calculate this Zakat?”
If this sounds like you, you are in a safe space among friends. Welcome.
First, the basics.
Zakat is one of the pillars of Islam. It simply means you donate a percentage of your yearly income to those in need. No long stories.
There are many spiritual benefits to donating Zakat therefore Muslims are greatly encouraged to do so.
Okay, so, what do I need to know?
Stay with me on these terms, okay?
Nisab – You know how cut off mark for JAMB is like 200? Nisab is like that. It’s the cut off mark for determining whether you are eligible to pay Zakat or not. If you pass it, you pay Zakat. If you fall below it, you don’t pay.
The “cut off” for Nisab is determined using the current value of 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver.
So, you check the daily value of silver and gold before calculating Zakat. It’s just like the way we all monitor the exchange rate of the dollar to Naira every day.
Many people advice using the current rate of silver to calculate the Nisab value.
Nisab = Cash equivalent of 612.36 grams of silver.
1 gram of silver = N212.95
612 grams = ?
So, our Nisab cut off mark is N130,219.03. Yay!
So, what next?
The first step is to call a family meeting. Jokes.
The first step in calculating your Zakat is to audit yourself. For this, you’ll need:
Your Assets: What you own. Company car is not your asset so don’t play yourself. You remove everything you use in your daily life from asset calculation. Black tax, check. Canada money, check. Basically, your asset should be what’s left after removing money to take care of yourself and your village people.
Examples of assets are: stocks, savings, investments, etc.
Your gbese: This includes money you borrowed, money for aso-ebi you haven’t paid for, owo odun you promised someone, etc. These are all your debts. Add it all up.
Okay?
Then, you subtract Assets from Gbese.
Assets – Gbese = Zakat payable money (Money that can now be taxed to pay a percentage of Zakat from)
Let’s assume after your calculation, your Zakat payable money is N200,000. The Nisab above is N130, 219.03, which means you owe Zakat.
You should give a minimum of 2.5% of your payable money. Although, if your money grows like grass, you can give more than 2.5%.
What if I don’t make the cutoff?
However, let’s assume your Zakat payable money is N100,000. It’s lesser than the N130,219.3 which means you don’t owe Zakat.
E go be. We try again next year.
Now, try out our custom made Zakat calculator in Naira to see how much you should pay. Also, remember to identify Muslims in need and make sure that the money gets to them.
Have you read this? Eid Fitr 2020: We Asked 5 Muslims How They Plan To Celebrate.
