Purification and zakat on your investments
After this lesson you can calculate how much of a dividend to purify, decide which investments count for zakat, and value them correctly on your zakat date.
Investments par tathir aur zakat
Jo stock 5% income test paas kar le, us ki income mein bhi thora sa sood ya haram hissa ho sakta hai. Dividend ka utna hissa sadqa kar dein, sawab ki niyyat ke baghair: dividend x haram income ka %. Misal: Rs 24,000 dividend aur 3% haram income ho to Rs 720 alag karein. Kuch ulama kehte hain ke dividend na bhi mile to per share haram income ke hisab se tathir karein.
Zakat aksar ulama ke nazdeek 2.5% hai, us maal par jo nisab se zyada ho aur ek qamri saal guzar jaye. Nisab 87.48 gram sona ya 612.36 gram chandi hai, aur Pakistan ke bohat se ulama chandi wala nisab behtar samajhte hain, kyun ke is mein gharibon ka faida hai. Trading wale crypto aur shares zakat ki tareekh par market value par gine jate hain, khareed ki qeemat par nahi.
Long-term shares par ikhtilaf hai: kuch ulama poori market value par zakat kehte hain, kuch sirf company ke zakatable assets, yani cash, receivables aur stock, wale hisse par. Misal: 2,000 shares Rs 300 par = Rs 600,000; poori value par zakat Rs 15,000, aur Rs 90 fi share zakatable assets hon to Rs 4,500. Apne aalim ke saath ek tareeqa chunein, likh lein aur har saal usi par chalein.
- Dividend ka haram hissa alag kar ke de dein; yeh zakat nahi.
- Trading assets ki zakat zakat ki tareekh ki market value par hoti hai.
- Long-term shares par ulama ki do raayein hain; ek chunein aur har saal wohi rakhein.
Poora sabaq neeche English mein hai. Quiz English mein hai; asaan alfaaz mein.
Hira, a freelancer in Faisalabad, now holds three things: KMI-30 shares she bought for the long term, a small crypto trading account and Rs 150,000 in cash. When her zakat date came, she opened a calculator and froze. Do shares count at market price or something else? What about the crypto she trades every week? A friend also said she must 'clean' her dividends first. Hira did not want to underpay what belongs to the poor, or to guess and pay on things that are not zakatable.
Purifying dividends
Even a stock that passes the 5% income test may earn a small amount from interest or other impermissible sources. Most scholars who accept such stocks require the investor to purify that part: give it to charity without the intention of reward, and without using it for yourself. Purification is not zakat and not sadaqah for reward. It simply removes what was never yours to keep.
The common method uses the dividend: purification = dividend received x (impermissible income / total income). Some scholars hold that you should purify your share of the company's impermissible income even when no dividend is paid, using impermissible income per share x shares held. The percentages come from screeners and the company's annual report.
Zakat basics for an investor
Zakat, in the majority view, is 2.5% of zakatable wealth you have held for a lunar year above the nisab. The nisab is 87.48 grams of gold (7.5 tola) or 612.36 grams of silver (52.5 tola). Many Pakistani scholars recommend the silver nisab because it is lower and benefits the poor. Fix one zakat date on the Islamic calendar and value everything on that day.
- Cash, bank balances and savings: the full amount.
- Gold and silver kept as savings: market value on the zakat date.
- Crypto and stocks held for trading: full market value on the zakat date.
- Gold jewellery: Hanafi scholars, followed by most in Pakistan, include it; many others exempt jewellery worn regularly.
- Debts you must pay now are usually deducted; ask a scholar about long-term loans.
Long-term shares: two fair views
If you bought shares to sell for profit, they are trading assets and zakat is on their full market value. If you hold shares for the long term to receive dividends, contemporary scholars differ. Some say pay 2.5% on the full market value anyway, since the shares are wealth you could sell today. Others say pay only on your share of the company's zakatable assets, such as cash, receivables and stock-in-trade, because buildings and machinery are not zakatable.
Both views come from serious scholarship. The full-value view is simpler and more cautious; the zakatable-assets view needs figures from the company's balance sheet. Choose one with your scholar, write it down and stay consistent every year. If your bank already deducted zakat from a savings account, note the amount and ask how to count it.
Hira's purification and zakat
Purification: Hira holds 2,000 shares that paid Rs 12 per share, a dividend of Rs 24,000. The company's impermissible income is 3% of total income, so she gives 24,000 x 3% = Rs 720. Under the per-share view, with impermissible income of Rs 0.50 per share, she gives 2,000 x 0.50 = Rs 1,000.
Zakat: cash Rs 150,000 plus trading crypto worth Rs 400,000 = Rs 550,000, zakat Rs 13,750. Her 2,000 shares at Rs 300 = Rs 600,000. Full-value view: 600,000 x 2.5% = Rs 15,000, total Rs 28,750. Zakatable-assets view: if the company holds Rs 90 of zakatable assets per share, 2,000 x 90 = Rs 180,000, zakat Rs 4,500, total Rs 18,250.
Nisab check with silver at a supposed Rs 5,000 per tola: 52.5 x 5,000 = Rs 262,500. Hira is well above it.
Zakat is a pillar of Islam, and the Quran warns those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend in the way of Allah (Quran 9:34-35). Purification follows from the command not to consume wealth unjustly (Quran 2:188) and to give up what remains of riba (Quran 2:278-279). The figures here follow the majority view: 2.5%, a lunar year, and the gold or silver nisab. On long-term shares, jewellery and debts, scholars hold different positions in good faith. Choose with a qualified scholar you trust and use the same method every year.
Education, not a fatwa. Where scholars differ, we say so. See what scholars say.
The trap is mixing purification and zakat, or skipping one because you paid the other. Purification removes impermissible income and is not counted as your charity; zakat is an obligation on your halal wealth. Another costly habit is valuing trading crypto at what you paid instead of its price on the zakat date. If it doubled, your zakat on it doubled too; if it fell, you pay less.
Open the zakat calculator. Enter your cash, any gold or silver in tola, and your crypto at live prices. Switch between the gold and silver nisab and note how the threshold changes. For long-term shares, work out both views on paper first, then enter the figure your chosen method gives.
Open zakat calculator →Key takeaways
- Purify the impermissible part of dividends, dividend x impermissible income %, given away without seeking reward.
- Zakat is 2.5% on wealth above nisab held a lunar year, and trading assets count at market value on your zakat date.
- For long-term shares, scholars differ between full market value and the zakatable-assets portion, so pick one and stay consistent.
Check yourself
Pass with 2 of 3 to complete the lesson. Answers are checked on our server, so the certificate means something.
Barqish is an educational platform. Nothing here is financial advice or an instruction to buy or sell, and screening is not a fatwa. Spot ownership only: no leverage, no short selling. Updated 30 September 2026.