Zakat: calculation, rules and recipients

Zakāt is the third pillar of Islam and a right of Allāh upon the wealth of the Muslim. It is divided into two complementary categories: Zakāt al-māl, levied annually (after the ḥawl has elapsed) on wealth reaching the niṣāb threshold (gold, silver, currencies, trade goods, livestock, crops), and Zakāt al-fiṭr, due from every Muslim before the Eid al-Fiṭr prayer to purify the one who fasted and feed the poor. This pillar gathers articles on the calculation of Zakāt according to classical rules (rates, niṣāb updated against gold and silver values), on the eight categories of recipients mentioned in sūrat al-Tawba (9:60), on conditions of validity, and on classical disagreements addressed soberly, in particular the question of Zakāt al-fiṭr paid in staple food vs. its monetary equivalent. The content follows the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah methodology along the path of the Salaf, drawing on the canonical collections, the fiqh works of major scholars (Ibn ʿUthaymīn, Ibn Bāz, al-Fawzān, al-Lajnah al-Dāʾimah) and well-established positions. For any personal situation (precise calculation, composite assets, debts, dependants), referral to a qualified scholar or a recognised fatwa committee is explicit. Wa Allāhu aʿlam.