As stated in this column yesterday, Zakah is of two types. One is Zakatul Mal (levy on wealth). The other is Zakatul Fitr (levy for festivity). The two are obligatory and paid annually. But while Zakatul Mal is to be paid only by those who have excess in their custody after one full year, Zakatul Fitr is a flat levy to be paid at the end of Ramadan by every Muslim irrespective of age, gender and financial status.
Zakatul Mal is paid not only on the amount of money kept in one’s bank account but also on fixed property like commercial house(s), land, farm crops as well as animals. Each of these has a taxable amount called ‘NISAB’. For Zakah of money, the NISAB prescribed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is 200 Dirham or 20 Dinar. Both amounts are equal in value at the exchange rate.
The use of silver or gold as a means of determining NISAB as earlier recommended by the Prophet was later relaxed with the Qur’anic revelation which ordered the wives of the Prophet to pay Zakatul Mal. None of the Prophet’s wives was rich enough to meet the NISAB by gold or silver after the demise of Sayyidah Khadijah. And Zakah did not come as a pillar of Islam until after Khadijah’s demise.
With the revelation ordering them to pay Zakah, the Prophet’s wives had to comply despite their pecuniary handicap.
Caliphs Umar bn Khattab and Ali bn Abi Talib in particular laid emphasis on the monetary NISAB of 200 Dirham or 20 Dinar prescribed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in order to make payment of Zakah easier for majority of Muslims. Otherwise, Zakah would have been an exclusive pillar of Islam for the rich alone. And that would have defeated the welfare purpose which Zakah was meant to serve and it would have excluded most Muslims from that pillar of Islam.
For Nigerian Muslims of today, the Dirham of the United Arab Emirates is chosen by ‘THE MESSAGE’ as the mode of determining the NISAB not only because it is the most consistent in exchange rate especially against the American Dollar having remained almost same since 1982 but also because it is the only one with which most Nigerian Muslims are familiar. And its current rate against American Dollar is 200 Dirham to 54 US Dollars which translates to N8210. Whoever is in possession of a minimum of N8210 therefore as net income after one full year must pay Zakah of N205.25 which is one over forty or two and a half percent of the NISAB. And if the net income is higher than that then, the payable amount is worked accordingly.
Dr. Femi Abbas is a columnist at THE NATION NEWSPAPER and can be reached via: E-mail: femabbas756@gmail.com Tel: 08115708536 (Text only)
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