I found that many people do not fully understand how to calculate Zakat on gold, especially when it comes to different karats. The topic is simpler than it seems, but it needs clarity.

First, Zakat is a fundamental obligation and not optional. If you own gold and it reaches the established Nisab, you are required to pay its Zakat. The Nisab is approximately 85 grams of pure gold, and the Zakat due is 2.5% of its market value when a full Hijri year passes over your ownership.

The key point here is that this applies to all forms of gold—whether it is ingots, coins, or even jewelry prepared for investment and saving. As for jewelry used daily for adornment, there is a difference in scholarly opinion about it, but gold stored with the intention of saving is undoubtedly subject to Zakat.

Regarding different gold karats, this is the part that confuses some. 24-karat gold is 100% pure gold. 21-karat gold contains 87.5% pure gold. And 18-karat gold contains only 75%. When calculating the Nisab for 21-karat gold, you need to convert the weight based on this ratio, so the Nisab becomes about 97 grams instead of 85 grams.

Let me give you a practical example: if you have 100 grams of 21-karat gold, and the price per gram of pure gold in the market is 400 Saudi riyals, then the calculation is as follows: 100 grams × 0.875 = 87.5 grams of pure gold, worth 35000 Saudi riyals. Zakat due = 35000 × 2.5% = 875 Saudi riyals.

What you should remember is that Zakat is not merely a cold financial obligation. It is an act of worship that purifies both wealth and the soul, and it achieves social solidarity. When you give it, you help the poor and those in need and reduce the social gap.

There are important guidelines: do not delay giving it until after the Hijri year is completed, make sure you give it from lawful (halal) money, and do not try to reduce weight or price in an attempt to evade Zakat. Also, it should be given to the eligible categories—not to those for whom you are obligated to provide spending according to Islamic law.

Those eligible for Zakat are eight categories: the poor, the needy, those employed to collect it, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, those in bondage (freeing captives), those who are in debt, those in the cause of Allah, and the traveler. Do not give Zakat to anyone else, even if they are close relatives.

If you own gold in investment funds or mining shares, the same rule applies. Calculate the total market value, make sure it reaches the Nisab, and pay 2.5% when the Hijri year is completed.

Conclusion: there is no complexity to it. Calculate the weight of pure gold, multiply it by the current price, and pay 2.5% of the result. That simple step is how you fulfill an important obligation and purify your wealth.