The Nisab of Zakat on Wealth and the Ruling on Taking Zakat from One to Whom It Is Paid

Our brother asks: What is the nisab of zakat regarding the Iraqi currency, the dinar? And is zakat obligatory on a person to whom zakat is paid at the same time?
Answer: As for the nisab, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified it. The nisab for gold is twenty mithqals, which amounts to ninety-two grams. In Saudi and French pounds, it is eleven and three-sevenths of a pound, meaning eleven and a half; the small fraction does not matter. Eleven and three-sevenths is eleven and a half, because it is clearer for the calculator. This is the nisab regarding gold. For silver, the nisab is one hundred and forty mithqals of silver. Whatever takes the place of this in American dollars, Iraqi dinars, or otherwise, and equals this, is the nisab. What equals, for example, one hundred and forty mithqals of silver, or eleven and a half pounds of gold, is called the nisab. A quarter of a tenth is obligatory on it: two and a half on one hundred, five on two hundred, twenty-five on one thousand—a quarter of a tenth. If one wishes to give zakat on what he has without looking at the nisab, the matter is broad in this regard; because the nisab is small, meaning the minimum nisab is a small amount. If a person has wealth, he gives zakat on it, because the nisab is very small: the amount of twenty mithqals of gold or one hundred and forty mithqals of silver is sixty-six Saudi riyals, sixty-six riyals of silver in Saudi currency, and this is a small amount. So a person does not need to strain himself regarding the nisab; he gives zakat on what he has, and praise be to Allah; because in most cases, he has reached the nisab. And O you people of hundreds and thousands, you have reached the nisab. It may only be confusing for those with few dinars, if they have a small amount. These people look at its value relative to the French pound and the known Saudi pound relative to twenty mithqals of gold: what is it worth? If what he has equals twenty mithqals of gold, zakat is obligatory on it.
Or if it equals one hundred and forty mithqals of silver, zakat is obligatory on it. They know this by looking to the dealers in gold and silver, the money changers. If they consult them and ask about the value of twenty mithqals of gold or the value of one hundred and forty mithqals of silver, they will know that. There is no need to strain oneself if one gives zakat on what he has, so praise be to Allah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you. So, should it also be said to this brother that he must always give a quarter of a tenth?
The Shaykh: That is sufficient; he does not need to strain himself by asking. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you. The next message is from one of the brothers, he says Sa'id Yusuf Mahmoud...?
The Shaykh: There is a question remaining in his message: Is he given zakat?
The presenter: Yes, excuse me, yes.
The Shaykh: Yes, if he has zakat due on him and he is poor, he is given it. For example, if a person has one thousand dinars, we say: You owe twenty-five in zakat, a quarter of a tenth. But this thousand that he uses as capital, works with, is not enough for him; he has a family, and it is not enough for him. If he spent this money, he would have nothing left. So he works with this money in needs, in buying and selling, in goods. So he is given from the zakat what suffices for his situation, and the pounds or dollars he has remain as capital for him to use to help with the needs of the house. He is given it because he is poor, and he gives zakat on what he has of this wealth that reached the nisab. So if he has one thousand dinars, for example, he gives twenty-five of it every year. If he has needs, he sells them in the shop or in a grocery stall or something, he gives zakat on this thing and is given from the zakat what completes his need; because the profit of the one thousand dinars, or one thousand dollars, or one thousand British pounds, or similar, and what is obtained from it, may not suffice for his situation or be enough for the needs of the house. So he is given from the zakat what covers his need, and it is not said: You must spend this and remain idle. No, he trades with it and uses this money in his hands to help with the needs of the house with its profit, and he is given from the zakat what suffices for his situation. And likewise, if he has, let us say, one hundred dinars and gives two and a half of it in zakat, the remaining hundred is not worth much relative to his need, so he is given what covers his need from his brothers, from the zakat of his Muslim brothers, and there is no harm in this. This is the view of the majority of the scholars.
Yes, some of the scholars went to the view that one who gives zakat is not given it, and this is a weak opinion. The correct view is that he is given it if he is poor, even if zakat is obligatory on wealth he has. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you. We will postpone the message of our brother Sa'id Yusuf Mahmoud from Bisha, Sabt al-'Alayya, to the next session, if Allah wills.
Your Eminence, at the end of this meeting, I direct to you my sincere thanks, after Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), for your generosity in answering the honorable listeners, and I hope that the meeting will be renewed and that you are in good health and well-being.
The Shaykh: If Allah wills.