The Zakah of Al-Fitr

[Mariam]

Bismillah

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of t he Worlds, the One Who created everything and doesn’t resemble any of His creations. I ask Allah to raise the rank of our beloved Prophet Muhammad and to protect his nation from what he fears for it

The Zakah of Al-Fitr is due on every Muslim who is alive for a part of Ramadan and a part of Shawwal

Explanation: Zakat-ul-Fitr is due for every Muslim who is living before the sunset of the last day of Ramadan and is still alive after the sun sets completely on that day.

The due Zakah for each is a sa^ of the most common staple food of that region. It is an obligation upon the Muslim to pay the due Zakah for himself and his Muslim dependents on the Day of the Feast of Al-Fitr (^Id-ul-Fitr) if he has enough money to meet his debts, clothing, lodging, and sustenance, and the sustenance of those whom he must support for the Day of the Feast of Fitr and the night after it.

Explanation: The Zakah of Fitr due on one Muslim is one sa^, that is, four mudds of the most common staple crops of that region. The Muslim must pay it for oneself and for every Muslim whom one is obligated to support. For example, the man pays for his non-pubescent children, wife, Muslim slave, and poor parents. The unmarried pubescent woman pays it for herself and her Muslim slave. The wife pays it for her Muslim slave whom the husband is not obligated to provide for her. Among the pubescent dependants are one's handicapped or insane children who are unable to support themselves.

Moreover, for the Zakah of Al-Fitr to be due on one, it is a condition that one has what exceeds one's debt -even if it is not due yet- and what is enough to provide for one's self and dependants the proper clothing, lodging and sustenance for the Day of ^Id and the night after it. Consequently, if one does not have what exceeds the aforementioned matters, one is not obligated to pay the Zakah of Al-Fitr.

If one's baby is born or one gets married after the sunset of the last day of Ramadan, then no Zakah of Fitr is due for this baby or wife that year. Similarly, no Zakah of Al-Fitr is due if one becomes solvent or embraces lslam after that sunset.

Moreover one's pubscent children, whether male or female, are not among those whom one is obligated to support. Thus, one is not obligated to pay the Zakah of Al-Fitr for them. However, if they authorize one to pay it on their behalf, one may do so.


One must pay the Zakah of Al-Fitr before the sun sets on the day of ^Id-ul-Fitr. It is best to pay it on the Day of Fitr before the ^Id prayer. It is permissible to pay it at any time during Ramadan.

It is sinful to delay paying Zakah after its due time while one is able and has no excuse. One has to pay the due amount of Zakah, even if one's money was lost due to fire, robbery, or otherwise.

When one delegates another to pay one's own Zakah, it is one's own responsibility to ensure that the delegate is trustworthy and knowledgeable of distributing Zakah.