Islamic finance
Nisab Today in ZAR
The live zakat threshold in South African Rand, from today's gold and silver prices (2026-09-27).
Gold nisab by karat in ZAR
Nisab is 85 g of pure gold. Jewellery is alloyed, so the weight you need depends on the karat — the local standard in South African Rand is 22K.
| Karat | Purity | Per gram today (ZAR) | Grams for nisab |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 99.9% | 2,246 | 85.1 g |
| 22Klocal standard | 91.7% | 2,061 | 92.7 g |
| 21K | 87.5% | 1,967 | 97.1 g |
| 18K | 75.0% | 1,686 | 113.3 g |
Spot metal value at 2026-09-27; shop prices add making charges and tax. Zakat itself is 2.5% of the value once you are above nisab.
Nisab in South Africa
South Africa's Krugerrand is 22K but contains exactly one troy ounce (31.1 g) of pure gold, so count each full coin as 31.1 grams pure. Jewellery is mostly 9K and 18K and must be converted by purity. The rand floats and is volatile, so the ZAR nisab moves with both gold and the exchange rate. South African zakat organisations publish the figure in rand. Nisab is measured in pure gold, and jewellery is never pure: multiply each piece's weight by its karat's purity (0.9167 for 22K, 0.875 for 21K, 0.75 for 18K, 0.585 for 14K) before comparing the total with 85 grams. The karat table above gives today's per-gram value of each karat in your currency for a quick valuation.
The zakat year
The zakat year (hawl) is lunar — about 354 days, not 365. Fixing one Hijri date each year (many people use Ramadan) keeps the calculation consistent; paying on a Gregorian anniversary drifts eleven days later every year.
Common situations for zakat payers in South Africa
South African Muslims commonly ask about retirement annuities, provident and pension funds — treated as zakatable when accessible in the common view, though some local scholars say to pay on them annually — and about Krugerrands, which are zakatable at their one-ounce gold content. Unit trusts and JSE shares are zakatable at market value if held for trading.
Where South African Muslims pay zakat
SANZAF (South African National Zakah Fund), Al-Imdaad, Islamic Relief South Africa and Muslim Judicial Council channels; direct payment is valid. Zakat to a registered public benefit organisation qualifies for a section 18A tax certificate.
How to use these numbers
If your zakatable wealth in South African Rand — cash in ZAR, gold and silver, money owed to you, and business inventory — stays at or above the nisab for one full lunar year, zakat of 2.5% is due. Most scholars recommend checking against the lower silver figure (20,103 ZAR today) so that zakat reaches more people.
Calculate exactly what you owe with the zakat calculator, value gold by weight and karat with zakat on gold, or see today's gold price in South Africa.
Nisab in other currencies
Frequently asked questions
What is the nisab in ZAR today?+
Using the gold standard (85 g of pure gold), today's nisab is about 191,080 ZAR. Using the silver standard (595 g) it is about 20,103 ZAR. Figures refresh daily with metal prices and the ZAR exchange rate.
Gold or silver standard — which should I use?+
Most scholars recommend the silver nisab because it is lower — zakat becomes due sooner and more of the poor benefit. The gold standard is also valid.
Why does the nisab in South African Rand change?+
Two moving parts: the global gold/silver price, and the ZAR exchange rate. Both update daily, so a nisab figure published months ago can be far off — this page always shows today's value.