The Nisaab of Qurbani

The Nisaab of Qurbani and Zakaat is same. That is, the amount which a person must possess for Zakaat to become obligatory on him, is the same amount that he should possess for Qurbani to be obligatory on him. Nevertheless, there is a small difference between the two. There are things that are not taken into consideration when calculating the Nisaab of Zakaat but they are taken into consideration for Qurbani. In regards to Zakaat, a person must possess the value and the amount in the form of cash, gold, silver and commercial goods. Apart from these, he may possess a few houses, a few cars, sites or land, but in spite of all that, Zakaat will not be obligatory on them as long as these things are not bought with the intention of trade.

However, in regards to Qurbani, one must estimate the value of all that which a person has in his possession which exceeds his necessities. For example, if he has a house in which he lives and another which remains closed, then that closed house needs to be evaluated. Automatically, the value of a house will have to reach the value of Nisaab. So, he must do Qurbani. Likewise, one must analyse the value of all objects which are extra in the house. If their value reaches the value of Nisaab, then Qurbani must be done.

[English version of "Nisaab de qurbaani" – Al Jamiat – Vol.7 No.7]