hawl

Hawl is a term from Arabic and Islamic jurisprudence referring to a cycle or period of one lunar year. In ordinary usage it denotes the time required for wealth to be in the owner’s possession for a full year in order to determine when zakat is due. The word itself comes from the Arabic root meaning turn or cycle.

In Islamic finance and fiqh, hawl is the time frame used to calculate zakat on certain kinds of wealth. The key idea is that if an asset remains above the nisab threshold for a complete lunar year, zakat is payable on that wealth. The calculation typically applies to cash, gold, silver, and merchandise held for sale. Other assets, such as agricultural crops, livestock, or specific business assets, have separate zakat rules that may not use a hawl.

Nisab values establish the minimum amount of wealth that makes zakat obligatory. Traditional nisab is often stated as the value of 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver, though actual thresholds can vary by time and by school of thought, reflecting changes in the market price of precious metals. If wealth above nisab is held for a hawl, zakat is commonly calculated at 2.5% (one-twentieth) of the amount above nisab.

Hawl is typically referenced as hawl al-maal or hawl al-zakat in discussions of zakat, and it should not be confused with the garment known as a shawl (different term and meaning). In summary, hawl defines the yearly period after which zakat becomes due on eligible wealth that has resisted depletion and remained above nisab.