Zakat on Silver: Nisab, Incremental Dues and Alloyed Dirhams

1. The first threshold for silver

لَيْسَ فِيمَا دُونَ مِائَتَيْ دِرْهَمٍ صَدَقَةٌ.
Translation: There is no zakat on silver below 200 dirhams.

Nisab is the minimum legal amount that, together with the remaining conditions, triggers zakat liability. This text sets the silver threshold at 200 dirhams.

199 and 200 dirhams are not treated alike: the former falls below nisab; the latter reaches it.

2. The dirham as a weight standard

The dirham is also a historical weight unit for silver in Islamic jurisprudence. “200 dirhams” therefore refers to the corresponding silver amount, not merely counting present-day coins.

Converting this nisab to grams or tolas requires a defined, reliable juristic standard; ordinary contemporary coins should not automatically be treated as the legal dirham.

3. Silver below nisab

If a person owns only 180 or 199 dirhams worth of silver and has no other zakatable property that must be combined with it, the independent silver nisab is not reached.

This ruling concerns the silver threshold itself. Rules about combining different classes of assets are distinct; the final liability must not always be determined from the weight of silver alone.

4. The due at 200 dirhams

فَإِذَا كَانَتْ مِائَتَيْ دِرْهَمٍ، وَحَالَ عَلَيْهَا الْحَوْلُ: فَفِيهَا خَمْسَةُ دَرَاهِمَ.
Translation: When the silver amounts to 200 dirhams and a year has passed over it, five dirhams are due as zakat.

Two core requirements appear together: completion of nisab and passage of the zakat year. At this threshold, the due amount is five dirhams.

5. One-fortieth: the basic rate

One-fortieth of 200 dirhams equals five dirhams. This is rubʿ al-ʿushr, or 2.5 percent.

Calculation: 200 ÷ 40 = 5 dirhams.

This establishes the basic proportion. The jurists differ, however, on how to count small additions above the initial silver nisab.

6. The condition of a completed year

“ḥāla ʿalayhā al-ḥawl” makes a completed zakat year a condition. Briefly reaching 200 dirhams does not, by itself, dispense with the year requirement.

The timing of the year, fluctuations in holdings, and combining other assets are governed by the general rules. The focus here is the amount due on silver after the required year.

7. The increment below 40 dirhams

وَلَا شَيْءَ فِي الزِّيَادَةِ حَتَّى تَبْلُغَ أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَمًا، فَيَكُونَ فِيهَا دِرْهَمٌ.
Translation: Nothing is due on the excess until it reaches 40 dirhams; then one dirham becomes due on that excess.

This concerns the amount beyond the initial 200 dirhams. A completed additional block of 40 dirhams creates a further due amount.

8. Abu Hanifa’s incremental rule

ثُمَّ فِي كُلِّ أَرْبَعِينَ دِرْهَمًا دِرْهَمٌ عِنْدَ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ.
Translation: Then, according to Abu Hanifa, one dirham is due for every further 40 dirhams.

The calculation starts with five dirhams at 200; one more is due for each completed additional block of 40. An incomplete block of 40 does not itself add another dirham.

Thus 239 and 240 dirhams have different dues.

9. The boundary between 239 and 240

239 dirhams: five are due on the first 200, with no extra due for the incomplete 39-dirham increment under this view. Total: 5 dirhams.

240 dirhams: five on 200 plus one on the completed extra 40. Total: 6 dirhams.

The difference concerns how increments above nisab are treated, not the basic rate itself.

10. Incremental silver schedule

200–239 dirhams: five due.
240–279 dirhams: six due.
280–319 dirhams: seven due.
320–359 dirhams: eight due.
360–399 dirhams: nine due.
400–439 dirhams: ten due.

This schedule applies the completed-forty increment rule. A different juristic position calculates the intermediate amounts differently.

11. Why incomplete increments are exempt

Under Abu Hanifa’s position, the first threshold is 200 dirhams and each subsequent completed step is 40 dirhams. An intermediate increment does not independently increase the due.

The reasoning draws on reports and juristic transmissions treating forty dirhams as a subsequent threshold. The additional silver still belongs to the owner; it has simply not completed the next zakat step under this rule.

12. Abu Yusuf and Muhammad on all increments

وَقَالَ أَبُو يُوسُفَ وَمُحَمَّدٌ: مَا زَادَ عَلَى الْمِائَتَيْنِ: زَكَاتُهُ بِحِسَابِهِ.
Translation: Abu Yusuf and Muhammad held that whatever exceeds 200 dirhams is subject to zakat proportionately.

Under this view, even an addition smaller than 40 dirhams contributes one-fortieth of that excess; there is no need to wait for a completed 40-dirham increment.

13. Proportional zakat calculation

At 220 dirhams, proportional zakat is 5.5 dirhams because 220 ÷ 40 = 5.5.

At 230 dirhams it is 5.75; at 260 dirhams it is 6.5.

These are calculations under the view of Abu Yusuf and Muhammad. Under Abu Hanifa’s stepwise rule, 220 still entails only five dirhams.

14. Side-by-side comparison

200 dirhams: Abu Hanifa 5; the two companions 5.

220 dirhams: Abu Hanifa 5; the two companions 5.5.

239 dirhams: Abu Hanifa 5; the two companions 5.975.

240 dirhams: Both positions give 6.

The results converge at each full 40-dirham threshold but differ at intermediate holdings.

15. Reasoning for proportional increments

The two companions emphasize the one-fortieth rate. On this reasoning, every amount above 200 is also zakatable property and its proportionate share is due.

They rely on the reported wording, “whatever exceeds two hundred is assessed proportionately,” whereas Abu Hanifa gives weight to reports identifying a further forty-dirham threshold.

Thus the disagreement concerns increments and fractions, not whether silver zakat is obligatory.

16. The five-awqiyah threshold

لَيْسَ فِيمَا دُونَ خَمْسِ أَوَاقٍ صَدَقَةٌ.
Translation: There is no zakat on silver below five awqiyah.

Five awqiyah correspond to 200 dirhams. The hadith identifies the initial silver threshold; how to assess smaller increments above it is a separate juristic question.

17. Threshold versus increment

One question is when silver zakat begins: its first threshold is 200 dirhams.

A different question is how the excess above 200 is assessed: Abu Hanifa uses completed forty-dirham steps, while the two companions use proportional calculation.

Confusing these questions incorrectly treats the 40-dirham additional step as though it were the original silver nisab.

18. What al-wariq means

“Al-wariq” refers to silver, especially silver coinage. Dirhams could also contain other metals, termed ghishsh (admixture or base-metal content).

The ruling depends on which component predominates. One situation is treated under the silver rules, while the other is assessed through the value rules for goods.

19. When silver predominates

وَإِنْ كَانَ الْغَالِبُ عَلَى الْوَرِقِ الْفِضَّةَ: فَهُوَ فِي حُكْمِ الْفِضَّةِ.
Translation: If silver predominates in the coinage, it is governed by the rulings of silver.

The governing criterion is predominance. When silver remains the dominant substance, the mixed coin is treated under the silver nisab rules. A small admixture of base metal does not automatically turn it into merchandise.

20. Example: silver is the larger component

If a coin contains 60% silver and 40% another metal, silver predominates. That dominance is why the coin falls under the silver classification in this rule.

This illustrates only which component dominates. Actual zakat assessment also requires the total holdings, nisab, the year condition, and the applicable valuation standard.

21. When base metal predominates

وَإِذَا كَانَ الْغَالِبُ عَلَيْهِ الْغِشُّ: فَهُوَ فِي حُكْمِ الْعُرُوضِ، وَيُعْتَبَرُ أَنْ تَبْلُغَ قِيمَتُهَا نِصَابًا.
Translation: When the admixture predominates, the coins are governed by the rules for goods, and their value must reach nisab.

In this case, value reaching nisab becomes the consideration rather than simply counting the coins as ordinary silver. The conditions for trade goods and the amount of extractable silver must still be kept distinct.

22. Alloy content and merchandise

Ghishsh is the base-metal admixture in silver. ʿUrud refers to property assessed under the rules for goods.

When base metal predominates, the coin’s name alone does not make it ordinary silver. If it is held for trade and the trade-goods conditions are met, its value becomes relevant to zakat assessment.

23. When extractable silver reaches nisab

Even if base metal predominates, when the extractable pure silver itself reaches a full silver nisab, the zakat obligation on that silver is not simply erased.

If the pure silver is below nisab, the other metal does not automatically complete the silver nisab. Trade intention and value-based rules may then become relevant.

24. Value-based assessment example

Suppose base metal dominates mixed coins and their pure-silver content alone does not reach silver nisab. If they qualify as trading stock, the aggregate market value is assessed against the relevant nisab.

By contrast, trade intent should not be invented for an item held for non-commercial use. Both the nature of ownership and the actual pure-silver content matter.

25. Comparing the two alloy cases

Case 1: silver predominates
The silver nisab rules apply; a minor admixture does not change its principal substance.

Case 2: base metal predominates
The rules for goods and their value become relevant, especially where the property is trade inventory.

Important qualification
If the extractable pure silver still reaches its own nisab, the silver liability remains relevant.

26. Nisab is not the amount due

200 dirhams is nisab, the starting threshold, not the amount paid.

Five dirhams is the basic due on that nisab when the other conditions hold.

Forty dirhams is the next complete increment under Abu Hanifa’s position, whereas the companions assess each additional amount proportionately.

Keeping these three numbers distinct resolves most computations in this chapter.

27. Synthesis of the silver-zakat rulings

The silver nisab is 200 dirhams, with five dirhams due after the completed year and other conditions.

Abu Hanifa adds one dirham for each complete further forty, while Abu Yusuf and Muhammad assess every excess proportionately.

Mixed coins dominated by silver follow silver rules. Those dominated by base metal raise rules about goods and value, while a full nisab of extractable pure silver remains separately relevant.