Zakat Nisab 2026: Current Threshold in GBP, USD and EUR

The nisab is the minimum amount of wealth a Muslim must hold before Zakat becomes due. It's pegged to the value of either 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver, figures that come straight from prophetic narrations and have been preserved across all four Sunni schools. The pound figure shifts daily because metal spot prices shift daily.

What follows is the live-style snapshot for early 2026, the cross-currency conversion, and the reasoning UK scholars use to recommend silver over gold.

Quick reference first.

Today's nisab in three currencies

Below is the current snapshot for the three currencies UK donors most often use. The figures are calculated from London PM fix gold prices and the COMEX silver close, converted at the day's mid-market FX rates. The AmalQ calculator uses the same feeds and refreshes hourly during UK trading hours.

Silver or gold: which one applies to you?

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) set both standards, gold and silver had a comparable value relative to ordinary household goods. A craftsman could expect to earn either in coin form. That equivalence broke down by the early 1900s when silver de-monetised, industrial demand collapsed and then partially recovered, and the gold-to-silver price ratio drifted from a 10-to-1 figure in the 7th century to an 80-to-1 figure today, which means the same scriptural weight of silver now buys far less than the same scriptural weight of gold, which is exactly why the practical question of which benchmark to apply has become so consequential for modern UK Muslims trying to be honest with their Zakat calculation.

The practical effect: a person who holds £600 in cash today is far above the silver nisab but well below the gold nisab. Different schools handle this differently.

The Hanafi position

The Hanafi school has historically used silver as the benchmark for cash and trade goods. The reasoning is that silver was the everyday currency, so the silver nisab better reflects 'wealth above subsistence' for most people. UK Hanafi scholars at Darul Iftaa Birmingham, Darul Uloom Bury and the Wifaqul Ulama all recommend silver for cash-based calculations.

The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali positions

These three schools historically use gold as the standalone benchmark for currency. In their view, the lower-value wealth holder isn't yet 'rich enough' to owe Zakat until they meet the gold threshold. Modern fatwa councils across these schools have, in the UK context, often softened toward the silver position to ensure more wealth flows to those in need.

The contemporary UK consensus

The National Zakat Foundation, Islamic Relief, Muslim Aid, and most UK-based imams now default to silver in their published guidance, not because silver is theologically superior, but because it captures more zakatable wealth. The reasoning: in 2026, £550 is a low bar that doesn't represent meaningful financial security, so it's more honest to the spirit of Zakat to use it.

Why the figure changes month to month

The nisab in pounds is just the spot price of the metal multiplied by the fixed weight. So everything that moves spot prices moves the nisab.

Drivers of gold spot price

• Real interest rates (gold competes with bonds; lower real rates push gold up)
• US dollar strength (gold is priced in USD; a stronger dollar mechanically lowers GBP gold)
• Central bank reserve buying (China, India, Turkey have been heavy buyers in 2024-2026)
• Geopolitical risk premium during conflicts or banking stress
• ETF flows from western retail and institutional investors

Drivers of silver spot price

• Industrial demand (silver is heavily used in solar panels and electronics)
• Mine supply (much silver is a by-product of copper and zinc mining)
• Speculative flows. Silver is more volatile than gold, so it whipsaws faster
• Investment demand for physical coins and bars during uncertainty

In 2026, silver has been remarkably strong, up 30% over the previous twelve months, pushing the silver nisab above £500 for the first time in many years. If the rally continues, the gap between silver and gold nisab will narrow. If silver retreats, the silver nisab could drop back below £450 within a quarter.

Nisab over the past five years

It helps to see the trend. Approximate silver nisab in GBP at Ramadan each year:

The silver nisab has nearly doubled in five years, driven by the 2024-2026 silver rally. Gold has been more stable in pound terms because GBP weakened against USD over the same period, partially offsetting the dollar gold rise.

How to use the right nisab on your Zakat date

Two questions decide which figure to plug in. First: what's your Zakat anniversary? Second: what's the spot price on that date? You're not supposed to use last week's figure or last year's. You use the figure on the day your wealth is being assessed. The AmalQ calculator handles this automatically by pulling spot prices for your specific date when you enter it.

If you're calculating manually, look up the price on Kitco, BullionVault, or the LBMA price reference for that date. Multiply by the weight (612.36g for silver, 87.48g for gold), and you have your nisab in pounds.

A note on the 2026 silver rally

We've heard from dozens of UK donors in 2026 who calculated their Zakat against last year's silver nisab and were surprised by how much their threshold had moved. If you crossed nisab last year at £481 but this year your wealth sits at £510, you're now below threshold, at least until silver pulls back. The arithmetic doesn't penalise you, but it's worth knowing.

On the flip side, the higher silver price in 2026 means anyone holding physical silver is suddenly closer to nisab on the silver alone. Don't forget to count what you actually own.

How nisab applies to households and joint accounts

One question that comes up often: do spouses combine their wealth for the nisab test, or each calculate separately? The answer is each separately. Zakat is an individual obligation, so a husband and wife with £400 each would not combine to £800 and trigger nisab; each is separately below the £550 silver threshold and neither owes Zakat.

Joint accounts are split by ownership share. If a couple's joint Cash ISA holds £8,000 contributed equally, each owns £4,000 for Zakat purposes. If one spouse contributed £6,000 and the other £2,000, the split should reflect that. Children's bank accounts (held in trust by parents) follow the contributor's ownership for Zakat until the child reaches puberty and the wealth becomes theirs.

Inherited wealth is yours from the moment the estate is distributed, even if it's still legally being processed. If a probate distribution lands two weeks before your Zakat anniversary and pushes you over nisab, that wealth counts.

Worth flagging.

Where AmalQ fits

We track the live nisab on the AmalQ Zakat calculator page so you don't have to. The feed pulls from the LBMA gold reference and the COMEX silver close, refreshes hourly, and converts to GBP, USD and EUR. When you've calculated what's due, the same page lists currently-active Zakat-eligible campaigns our scholars have verified meet the eight categories of recipient laid out in Al-Tawbah 9:60.

The arithmetic stays the same. The recipients are real, named, and tracked.

Whatever good you put forward for yourselves, you will find it with Allah, better and greater in reward.

Frequently asked questions

What is the current nisab for Zakat in 2026?

In early 2026, the silver nisab (612.36g of silver) is around £550 GBP, $1,600 USD, or €635 EUR. The gold nisab (87.48g of gold) is around £5,740 GBP, $7,100 USD, or €6,750 EUR. These figures shift daily with spot metal prices, so use the value on your specific Zakat anniversary date.

Why is the silver nisab so much lower than the gold nisab?

When both standards were set 1,400 years ago, gold and silver had a 10-to-1 price ratio. Today that ratio sits closer to 80-to-1 because silver de-monetised in the 19th and 20th centuries while gold retained its monetary role. The hadith-fixed weights stayed the same, so the pound values diverged dramatically.

Should UK Muslims use the silver or gold nisab?

Most UK fatwa councils, including the National Zakat Foundation, Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid, recommend the silver nisab. The reasoning is that silver represents a lower bar (around £550 in 2026) and therefore captures more zakatable wealth, which better serves the spirit of Zakat. The Hanafi school has favoured silver for centuries; the other three schools have softened toward this position in modern UK fatwas.

How often does the nisab change?

The pound figure changes daily because gold and silver spot prices move daily. The underlying weights (87.48g and 612.36g) never change. For practical Zakat calculations, you only need the figure for one specific date: your Zakat anniversary.

What if my wealth is between the silver and gold nisab?

If your wealth sits above silver nisab but below gold nisab, the silver position says you owe Zakat and the gold position says you don't. Most UK scholars recommend defaulting to silver in this case because it's the more cautious choice. Pay it; the reward is yours.

Where does the 87.48g and 612.36g figure come from?

From classical conversions of the prophetic measurements: 20 mithqal of gold (mithqal being a weight unit used in 7th-century Arabia) equals 87.48g, and 200 dirhams of silver equals 612.36g. Some scholars use slightly different conversions (85g of gold, 595g of silver) but 87.48g and 612.36g are the most widely accepted in 2026 fatwa publications.

Can I use a previous year's nisab if I missed paying Zakat?

If you owe Zakat for a previous year, use the nisab figure from that year's anniversary date, not today's. AmalQ's calculator can lookup historical spot prices if you tell it which date you missed. Pay the back-Zakat as soon as possible; classical scholars treat unpaid Zakat as a debt that doesn't expire.

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