ISLAMIC FINANCE
Zakat on your PSX portfolio — explained
How Equivest computes the annual Zakat obligation on your stocks, what nisab means, and when it's due.
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Zakat is the third pillar of Islam — the annual obligation to give 2.5% of your qualifying wealth to those in need, once that wealth has been held above the nisab threshold for one lunar year.
Equivest computes it live from your portfolio. No spreadsheets. No back-of-the-envelope math at 2am the night before Ramadan ends.
What’s zakatable
We include:
- Stocks — full market value of your current positions (the “trader” perspective most contemporary scholars apply). Long-term investors who follow the alternative view (~25% of value) can adjust the nisab or debts manually.
- Cash — fully zakatable. Pulled from your tracked cash balance.
We let you deduct debts owed to others before applying the 2.5% rate.
What “nisab” means
Nisab is the minimum wealth at which Zakat becomes obligatory. Two methods exist:
- Gold standard — 87.48 grams of gold
- Silver standard — 612.36 grams of silver
The silver standard works out to a lower PKR threshold, so most contemporary scholars prefer it — more people qualify, which is the precautionary view.
Equivest defaults to the silver-standard nisab, recomputed every day from the international silver price and the USD/PKR rate — the current figure and the three inputs behind it are on the nisab tool. You can edit the number when your masjid or the State Bank of Pakistan publishes an updated figure each Ramadan.
What “hawl” means
Hawl is the lunar year (354 days) your wealth must remain above nisab before Zakat falls due. Equivest tracks the countdown for you — pick your Zakat anniversary on first enable, and we show “Due in N days” in Settings + a Home reminder when you’re within 30 days.
How to enable it
- Open Settings → Islamic Finance → Zakat calculator.
- Read the methodology card.
- Tap Enable Zakat tracking.
- (Optional) Adjust the anniversary date if your hawl didn’t start today.
You’ll now see your live Zakat owed on the screen, broken down across portfolio + cash − debts → net wealth → compared against nisab → 2.5%.
What Equivest does NOT do
- We don’t auto-charge anything. This is a reminder system, not a payment processor.
- We don’t issue fatwas. Specific rulings (dividend treatment, partial-trader positions, sukuk, mixed accounts) require a qualified scholar.
- We don’t share your Zakat figures with anyone. The whole calculation runs on-device.
Privacy
All Rs values on the Zakat screen honor the privacy mask toggle (the eye icon on the app bar). Toggle it on if you’re reviewing in a coffee shop.
Compliance disclaimer: Equivest’s Zakat calculator is a calculation aid, not religious guidance. Consult a qualified Islamic scholar for personal rulings.