Ramadan 2027 in Canada: expected dates and zakat on gold

When does Ramadan 2027 start and end in Canada?

Islamic months begin with the new crescent moon. Communities in Canada use two main methods to set the dates:

• Astronomical calculation. The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA), which many North American mosques follow, sets dates in advance using set criteria for when the crescent can be seen.
• Local moon sighting. Other mosques and councils wait for a confirmed sighting on the evening of the 29th day. Their dates can be one day later.

These are expected dates. If your mosque follows local sighting, the start may be Tuesday, February 9 and Eid may be Wednesday, March 10. Your mosque will announce its dates closer to the time.

February days in Canada are short, so the daily fast is shorter than in a summer Ramadan. Fasting times depend on your city. Your local mosque publishes a timetable with suhoor and iftar times.

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and generosity. Muslims who are able fast from dawn until sunset. They break the fast at sunset with iftar, often shared with family, friends and the mosque community. The Government of Canada notes that nearly 1.8 million Muslims call Canada home.

Ramadan is a religious observance, not a shopping season. This page covers one practical question many families ask during the month: how zakat applies to gold. Many Muslims choose to pay their zakat in Ramadan, though it is due when one lunar year has passed on your wealth, whatever the month.

How is zakat on gold calculated?

Zakat is an obligation to give part of your wealth to people in need. Islamic Relief Canada and the National Zakat Foundation describe the basic rules this way:

• Rate: 2.5% of the value of the zakatable wealth you own.
• Nisab (threshold): zakat is due only if your wealth is at or above the nisab. The nisab is the value of 87.48 g of gold or 612.36 g of silver.
• Hawl (one lunar year): your wealth must stay at or above the nisab for one lunar year, about 354 days.

Why do some people use 85 g and 595 g? The nisab was set in old units: 20 mithqal of gold and 200 dirhams of silver. Converting these to grams gives slightly different answers. Some scholars and organizations use 85 g of gold and 595 g of silver. For example, the Ummah Masjid in Halifax lists 85 g and 595 g. The National Zakat Foundation lists 87.48 g and 612.36 g and calls 85 g and 595 g "another opinion". Follow the figure your mosque or scholar uses.

Gold or silver nisab? Silver gives a much lower threshold, so more people pass it. Islamic Relief Canada says the Hanafi school uses silver and the other schools use gold. It generally uses silver itself, but says that if your only wealth is gold, you use the gold nisab.

A simple example. Say you have held 100 g of pure gold savings for a full lunar year, and pure gold is, for example, $150 a gram. Its value is $15,000. Zakat at 2.5% would be $375. For jewellery, only the gold content counts: a 22K piece is 91.6% gold, so 10 g of 22K holds about 9.16 g of pure gold.

Is zakat due on gold jewellery you wear?

This is where scholars differ, and there is no single answer for everyone.

• Hanafi view: zakat is due on gold and silver jewellery, worn or not, once your total reaches the nisab and a lunar year has passed. Many South Asian Muslims follow this school.
• Majority view (Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools): jewellery kept for normal personal wear is generally exempt.
• Where views meet: gold kept as savings, bars and coins, and jewellery stored away and not worn, are generally treated as zakatable.

Some scholars also look at whether the amount of jewellery is more than what is customary to wear. Because the answer depends on your school and your situation, ask your local imam or a scholar you trust before you calculate.

How do you work out your zakat on gold in Canada?

1. Pick your zakat date. Many people use the same day each lunar year, often in Ramadan.
2. List your gold. Bars, coins, gold savings, and jewellery if your school counts it. Note the weight and karat of each piece. If weights are in tola, 1 tola is 11.6638 g.
3. Convert to pure gold. Multiply the weight by the purity: 24K is 99.9%, 22K is 91.6%, 18K is 75%, 14K is 58.5%, 10K is 41.7%.
4. Value it on your zakat date using the day's gold price in Canadian dollars. Use the price you could sell at, not the shop price with making charges.
5. Add your other zakatable wealth (cash, savings, investments) if your scholar advises it, then compare the total with the nisab.
6. Pay 2.5% of the total if it is above the nisab.

Our zakat calculator does the maths with the live nisab in Canadian dollars. To see today's value of a gram of gold or silver, check the gold price per gram in Canada.

Common questions

Sources

• Fiqh Council of North America: Islamic calendar (Ramadan and Shawwal 1448)
• Moonsighting.com: Ramadan and Eid in North America (1448 calculations)
• Islamic Relief Canada: What is nisab?
• Islamic Relief Canada: Zakat on gold
• National Zakat Foundation: Nisab values
• Ummah Masjid, Halifax: Nisab
• IslamQA.org (Hanafi, Askimam): Zakat on gold jewellery in the four schools
• IslamQA.org (Shafi'i Fiqh): Does one pay zakat on gold jewelry?
• Government of Canada: Statement on Ramadan, February 17, 2026

Checked against these sources on October 24, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.