QUESTION:
As Salaamu Alaikum,
I recently learned that business owners have to pay zakaat on their stock at the selling price. If someone has a lot of items in their business, can they just put a general percentage markup that is a higher average to be safe in calculating the current market value of the goods or do they have to actually check every single item that there is for sale?
I would also like to now if someone calculates their zakaat at 2.5% and the result is still lower than the nisaab of silver, are they exempt from paying zakaat this year?
ANSWER:
Wa Alaikum As Salaam,
- Business owners will pay Zakaah on their stock based on the current market value. This means that on the day one wishes to fulfill (pay) one’s Zakaah, one must look at the market value of the items/commodities/goods of that day, and calculate one’s Zakaah. (Shami 3/211 Zakariyya).
- If one has lot of items/goods in his store/shop/business which makes it difficult for him to check every single item to calculate Zakaah, then it will be permissible for the owner to estimate the amount of goods and its value, and pay Zakaah on an amount that the person knows that it is not lower than the amount he estimated.
Calculating the figure at a higher percentage will be very good, out of precaution. (Kitab An Nawazil Vol. 6 pg. 591 Na’eemiya).
- When you calculate your Zakaah, at 2.5% and it results in an amount that is lower than the Nisaab of Silver, then this does not mean that you are exempted from paying Zakaah. The result can be any amount, higher or lower than the Nisaab, and this is not a problem.
The important thing is that when Zakaah becomes compulsory on a person, after having the Nisaab for one entire Islamic Year, then he must pay 2.5% on the total amount of his savings and other items of trade that he may have in his possession at that time.
And Allah Knows best
Mufti Waseem Khan
4/3/2026