The UAE Council for Islamic Legislation, in cooperation with the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments and Zakat, announced the zakat threshold for dates for the year 2025, set at 541 kilograms of dried dates.

The council confirmed that zakat on dates is an agreed-upon obligation if the entire harvest reaches the nisab (minimum amount), and it is due at the time of harvest, citing the Quranic verse:

{Eat from its fruit when it yields and give its due on the day of its harvest. And do not waste; indeed, He does not like the wasteful.}

They clarified that the nisab is calculated based on the dried dates, not before drying, and the zakat on dates is distributed to the eight specified categories.

The council determined the percentage of zakat to be paid if the nisab is reached, explaining that palm trees irrigated by a natural water source that does not cost the owner require a zakat of one-tenth (10%) of the harvest. For palm trees irrigated at a cost, the zakat is half of that, i.e., 5%, based on the hadith of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, who reported that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: “For what is irrigated by rain, springs, or a wadi, the tenth; and for what is irrigated by a waterwheel, half the tenth.”

The council also stated that zakat on dates can be paid from the dates themselves or their monetary value, permitting payment in cash. However, paying zakat on fresh dates is not valid, but if the farmer sells the fresh dates, zakat is paid on their value according to a consensus of scholars.

To facilitate farmers and expand their options, zakat is calculated only on the remaining harvest after drying and cleaning, excluding what the owner consumes or distributes of fresh dates before harvest. Zakat is not obligatory on what is consumed, gifted, or donated unless it exceeds one-third of the harvest.

The council urged farm owners to comply with the laws and regulations governing the payment of date zakat and to adhere to the nisab amount set by the UAE Council for Islamic Legislation. It emphasized the importance of paying zakat through official and authorized entities in the country. Farmers can also benefit from the services of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments and Zakat in calculating and extracting date zakat.