Knowledge

Learn

Insights on Zakah, Islamic finance, and giving correctly.

All Articles

Zakah Intention — Can You Count Past Charity? (2026)

Zakah requires intention at the time of giving and cannot be applied to past donations made as general charity. Understanding this ensures your zakah is valid and properly fulfilled without confusion or miscalculation.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

What You Do NOT Pay Zakah On (2026)

Zakah is not due on everything you own. Personal items like your home, car, clothing, and tools are not zakatable, while wealth such as cash, gold, and investments are. Understanding this distinction helps ensure your zakah is calculated accurately.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Zakah for Freelancers and the Self-Employed (2026)

Freelance income does not arrive the same way a paycheck does, and that irregularity is exactly why most freelancers get zakah wrong. Understanding how to treat invoices, savings, and business expenses ensures your zakah reflects what you actually have, not just what passed through your account.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

What to Do With Bank Interest (2026)

Interest that lands in your account is not zakatable, and it is not yours to keep either. Understanding how to purify it correctly, and where it should go, keeps your wealth clean without confusing it with zakah.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

When Zakah Eliminated Poverty — A Reality in Islamic History

Zakah is more than a personal obligation. In Islamic history, it was implemented so effectively that poverty was nearly eliminated. When calculated and distributed properly, zakah has the power to create real, system-wide impact.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Can You Give Zakah to Family Members? (2026)

Zakah cannot go to everyone in your family, and the reason comes down to who you're already obligated to support. Understanding which relatives qualify and which don't ensures your zakah is valid and reaches the right hands.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

How to Talk to Your Spouse About Money (2026)

Money is one of the most avoided conversations in marriage, even though it touches almost every other part of it. A few honest conversations early can prevent years of quiet resentment later.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Zakah on Business — What You Actually Pay On (2026)

Zakah on business is not calculated on revenue or equipment, but on liquid and tradeable assets like cash, inventory, and raw materials. Understanding this distinction helps business owners calculate zakah accurately without overpaying or missing what is due.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Teaching Your Kids About Giving (2026)

Kids don't learn generosity from being told to share. They learn it from watching it happen around them, repeatedly, starting earlier than most parents assume. Here's what that looks like at each age.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Why Most People Calculate Zakah Wrong (2026)

Most people don’t properly calculate their zakah and instead rely on rough estimates, leading to overpaying or underpaying. Taking a structured approach by tracking assets, debts, and current values ensures zakah is calculated accurately and fulfilled correctly.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Zakah on Stocks, ETFs and Investment Portfolios (2026)

If you own stocks, you owe zakah on them. But the calculation depends on whether you're an active trader or a long-term investor. Get the method wrong and you either overpay by a factor of three or ignore the obligation entirely.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Zakah in 2026

Zakah is not charity. It's a mandatory act of worship tied to your wealth. If your total zakatable wealth meets the minimum threshold for one full year, you owe 2.5%. Here's everything you need to know to get started.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Financial Habits From the Sunnah (2026)

The Prophet (PBUH) didn't leave behind a budgeting app, but his financial habits still hold up today. A closer look at how he treated debt, spending, and giving shows a pattern worth building your own habits around.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Why Most Muslims Don't Have a Will (2026)

Ask any Muslim if they have a will and most will say no. Ask why, and the reasons rarely have anything to do with logistics. A closer look at the real excuses, and the risk of leaving them unaddressed.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

How Much Gold Before Zakah Applies? The Nisab Threshold Explained (2026)

Zakah is not owed on every amount of wealth. It only becomes obligatory once you cross a minimum threshold called the nisab. Understanding how that threshold is set, and which standard to use, ensures you don't overpay when you're under it or underpay once you're above it.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Why People Delay Paying Zakah (And How to Fix It) (2026)

Most people delay zakah not because they lack money, but because they lack a system to track and calculate it properly. Setting a fixed date and creating a simple structure ensures zakah is paid on time and without confusion.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

Recurring Giving and Zakah — Should You Pay Monthly? (2026)

Zakah does not have to be paid all at once. You can prepay and spread it out monthly, making it easier to manage while staying consistent. Tracking your payments ensures everything is properly accounted for when your zakah is due.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com

When Do You Calculate Zakah? Fixed Date vs Rolling Year (2026)

There are two ways to calculate zakah: a fixed yearly date or a rolling hawl-based method. While both are valid, choosing one consistent date each year is the simplest and most reliable way to ensure your zakah is paid correctly.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com·June 25, 2026

Halal Investing 101: Where to Start in Canada (2026)

You know you should be investing. You know it should be halal. But between conflicting opinions, unfamiliar terminology, and the fear of getting it wrong, most Canadian Muslims either invest conventionally and feel uneasy or don't invest at all. Here's how to start.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com·June 22, 2026

Is Your Mortgage Halal? Understanding Islamic Home Financing in Canada (2026)

Most Canadian Muslims carry a conventional mortgage and have never been told there's an alternative. Some know alternatives exist but assume they're more expensive or not truly different. Here's what Islamic home financing actually looks like in Canada and what you need to know before your next purchase.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com·June 18, 2026

Who Receives Zakah? The 8 Categories Explained (2026)

The Quran names exactly eight categories of people eligible to receive zakah. Understanding who qualifies is just as important as calculating what you owe.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com·June 15, 2026

The Muslim Financial Audit: How to Review Your Finances Islamically (2026)

Most Muslims have never done a full Islamic review of their finances. Not just zakah, but where their money sits, how it's invested, what's halal, what's not, and what needs to be purified. Here's how to run your own Muslim Financial Audit.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com·June 11, 2026

Zakah on Rental Property and Real Estate Income (2026)

If you own rental property, you do not pay zakah on the property itself. You pay zakah on the income it generates. Most property owners either overpay by including market value or undercount by missing income already sitting in their account.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com·June 8, 2026

RRSP, TFSA and Zakah: A Canadian Muslim's Guide (2026)

Not every Canadian account is treated the same for zakah. Your TFSA is zakatable every year. Your RRSP is not. The rule is simple: what you can access without penalty, you pay zakah on. What you can't, you don't.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com·April 10, 2026

Zakah on Crypto — How to Calculate It Correctly (2026)

Zakah on crypto is calculated based on its current market value, not what you originally paid for it. Since cryptocurrency is treated like cash, all holdings are included in your zakah calculation each year.

Rafik Haroune·April 9, 2026

Zakah on Gold — Do You Pay on Jewelry or Not? (2026)

Zakah on gold depends on how it’s used. Investment gold is always zakatable, while jewelry has a difference of opinion between scholars. Understanding this distinction ensures you calculate your zakah correctly and with confidence.

Rafik Haroune | Zakah.com·April 4, 2026

Zakah on Debts — What You Owe vs. What You're Owed (2026)

Zakat on debts depends on control: subtract short-term debts you owe, and include money owed to you only if you realistically expect to receive it. Understanding this distinction ensures you calculate zakat accurately without overpaying or missing what is due.