Zakat al-mal in Algeria: nisab, calculation, and the current DZD threshold

Zakat al-mal is the annual obligation to give 2.5% of qualifying wealth that has been held above the nisab for a full Hijri (lunar) year. It is one of the five pillars and is distinct from zakat al-fitr (paid at the end of Ramadan, in a different mechanism). Zakat al-mal applies to savings and investments — not to the home you live in, the car you drive every day, or essentials of livelihood.

Classical jurisprudence sets nisab at the value of 85 grams of pure gold or 595 grams of pure silver. In contemporary practice, the silver threshold is much lower in monetary value than the gold one — and most Algerian zakat committees and many scholars favour the silver nisab because it captures more eligible wealth in favour of those entitled to receive zakat. Some households use the gold threshold. The choice depends on which scholarly position you follow.

A simplified inventory for an Algerian household.

• Cash held at home, in current and savings accounts, in dinar and in foreign currency.
• Gold and silver held as a store of value (jewellery worn daily is treated differently across scholars — verify).
• Money lent to others that is expected to be repaid.
• Stock-in-trade for a business — at current market value, not cost.
• Excluded — the home you live in, the car you use, personal effects, and debts owed by you (deducted from the total).

“The home you sleep in, the kitchen you cook in, the car you take to work — these are tools of life, not stored wealth. Zakat is calculated on what you have set aside.”

A clean way to run the calculation each year.

• Pick the Hijri date you use as your annual zakat anniversary (hawl).
• Sum your qualifying assets at that date — cash, gold and silver value, business inventory, recoverable lending.
• Subtract any short-term debts due in the coming year.
• Compare the net total to the nisab threshold in DZD on that day.
• If above the threshold, multiply the net total by 2.5% (one fortieth).
• Distribute the resulting amount through the recognised recipient categories or through a recognised channel.

The mechanics are direct. Take the live 24K per-gram price in DZD (the closest local proxy to pure gold) and multiply by 85 for the gold nisab. For the silver nisab, take a current silver per-gram price and multiply by 595. Because gold and silver prices move daily, your nisab threshold moves with them — check both on the date you calculate.

• Gold nisab in DZD ≈ 85 × current 24K per-gram price
• Silver nisab in DZD ≈ 595 × current per-gram silver price
• Use the threshold corresponding to the position you follow (gold or silver).
• Recompute on the actual day you assess your wealth, not in advance.