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It’s the month of Ramadan which means it’s the season of charity and giving. If you’re wondering how to calculate Zakat, you’ve come to the right place!
What is Zakat?
Zakat is among the five pillars of Islam and requires all eligible Muslims to make a 2.5% charitable donation of their qualifying wealth each year to Muslims in need across a range of categories.
The word Zakat means to purify — by giving a part of their wealth to the needy, it teaches Muslims to sacrifice a part of their wealth, hence purifying it and gaining Allah’s blessing.
Who receives zakat?
There are eight categories of people and/or bodies who receive and benefit from Zakat:
The poor
The needy
New converts
The debt-ridden
Those in bondage (slaves to be freed and captives)
Islamic causes
The wayfarers (stranded without resources like refugees)
Zakat administrators
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How to calculate Zakat?
Step 1: Find out which types of Zakat are applicable to you.
Almost all Muslims pay Zakat Fitrah, which is compulsory for all eligible Muslims at the end of Ramadan. The purpose of this Zakat is to enable the poor to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.
For those that earn an income, you pay Zakat Pendapatan and/or Zakat Perniagaan
If you have savings, you pay Zakat Simpanan and/or Zakat KWSP
If you have assets or investments, you pay Zakat Emas and/or Zakat Pelaburan and/or Zakat Saham
Step 2: Calculate your total wealth.
Anything from cash, savings, assets, properties, precious items like gold and silver, bonds, stocks, pension, money lent to others, farm and agricultural produce, and so on are taken into account when calculating your total wealth.
Step 3: Find out your Zakat-able wealth
Total up your immediate needs and living expenses and deduct that from your total wealth. The balance equals your Zakat-able wealth.
Step 4: Check the threshold for Nisab
The Zakat nisab value is the minimum threshold required for an individual to be eligible to pay Zakat in that lunar year. The value changes every year, so make sure you check the latest information.
If your Zakat-able wealth meets or exceeds the threshold, you’re eligible to pay Zakat.
Step 5: Calculate how much Zakat you have to pay
Your Zakat-able wealth x 2.5% = Total Zakat you owe for the year
How to pay Zakat?
There are several ways to pay Zakat, such as through the post office, eZakat Pay, bank, official agents, Lembaga Zakat branch, and more.
The good news is, you can also pay for Zakat through BigPay and collect airasia points for every RM10 you spend to redeem major discounts on AirAsia flights and rewards later.
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Giving with BigPay
Ramadan teaches us all to be more compassionate towards the less fortunate. By participating in charity, we learn to be more grateful for what we have and how we can make others’ lives better with generous deeds.
This is why we partnered with Ikhlas, a public digital donation initiative that allows individuals and organisations to give to those in need during Ramadan. Donations to Ikhlas will be used to support the less fortunate, which include underprivileged families, refugees, and non-profit organisations that run soup kitchens and orphanages.
Give what you can through BigPay and earn points for every donation here 🥰
Written by
I’m Sabrina, a versatile writer with 7+ years of experience and I’ve been published by household names such as Tatler, Harper’s Bazaar, Mindvalley, and Cosme Japan.
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