Indeed, zakah is compulsory upon those who possess its nisab, or the minimum amount on which zakah is payable. The money kept to meet people’s basic requirements is not subject to zakah. People who only have enough to meet their needs and do not have savings that reach the nisab are not required to payzakah. The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore states the following: Properties owned to meet one’s basic requirements — such as houses, work tools, machines for industry, means of transport, and furniture — are excluded from zakah. The same applies to the money dedicated to the repayment of debts, since the debtor is in need of this money to avoid being imprisoned and humiliated. This leads to a conclusion that the money kept to meet the basic requirements is exempted from zakah.