What is Zakāt al-Fiṭr?

How does one discharge this obligation? (an extract from Volume 1 of the upcoming translation of Al-Fiqh al-Manhajī ʿalā Madhhab al-Imām ash-Shāfiʿī, to be published by Nawa Books)

زكاة الفطر

Zakāt al-Fiṭr

Its Definition:

It is a specific amount of property that must be paid after sunset on the last day of Ramaḍān, with specific conditions, on behalf of every legally responsible person and those whom he is obliged to support financially.

Its Legislation:

The dominant position, in the Sunnah, is that it was made obligatory in the second year of the Hijrah, in the same year in which fasting Ramaḍān was made obligatory.

The foundation for its obligation is what has been related by al-Bukhārī (1433) and Muslim (984), and the wording is the latter’s, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar L: the Messenger of Allah e obligated zakāt al-fiṭr min Ramaḍān[1] upon the people as one ṣāʿ[2] of dates or one ṣāʿ of barley. It was an obligation upon every freeman and slave, male or female, from among the Muslims.

The Conditions That Make It Obligatory:

Zakāt al-Fiṭr is obligatory when three conditions have been fulfilled:

The first is Islam. It is not obligatory upon the original unbeliever[3] in the sense that he is asked to perform it, due to the aforementioned ḥadīth on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with both of them.

The second is the sun’s setting on the last day of Ramaḍān. Thus, if someone dies after sunset on that day, it is obligatory to pay Zakāt al-Fiṭr on his behalf, regardless of whether he died after or before having the capacity to pay it, which is different from someone who is born after sunset. If someone dies before sunset, it is not obligatory to pay it on his behalf, which is different from someone who is born before sunset.

The third is that one have more than what one needs to feed oneself and one’s dependants on Eid day and its night,[4] to house them, and to provide a servant if there is a need.

If one does not have enough to cover the expenses of Eid day and its night, with regard to oneself and those whom one is obligated to support financially, one does not have to pay Zakāt al-Fiṭr. If one does have enough for Eid day and its night but not for what follows, one is obligated to pay Zakāt al-Fiṭr, as no consideration is given to what follows Eid day and its night.

Those On Whose Behalf the Legally Responsible Person Must Pay Zakāt al-Fiṭr:

Whoever fulfils these three conditions is obligated to pay Zakāt al-Fiṭr on behalf of himself as well as those whom he is obligated to support financially, such as his progenitors,[5] his descendants,[6] and his wife.

Thus, one is not obligated to pay it on behalf of one’s pubescent son who is capable of earning, nor on behalf of a relative whom one is not responsible for supporting financially. Indeed, it would not be valid to pay on his behalf without his permission and delegation of authority.[7]

If one does not have enough to pay on behalf of all of one’s relatives whom one is responsible for supporting financially, one gives priority to oneself, then one’s wife, then one’s small child, then one’s father, then one’s mother, then one’s older child who is incapable of earning.

Zakāt al-Fiṭr: The Type of Food that Must be Given and the Amount:

Zakāt al-Fiṭr is one ṣāʿ of the main staple of the area in which the legally responsible person resides, and the evidence is the aforementioned ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar L. Moreover, according to al-Bukhārī (1439), it is on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī I, who said, ‘In the time of Allah’s Messenger e, we would pay one ṣāʿ of food on day of al-Fiṭr, and our food was barley, raisins, aqiṭ,[8] and dates’.

The ṣāʿ that the Messenger of Allah e would use was four amdād, i.e. four double handfuls,[9] and these four double handfuls are measured to be equal to three litres in dry measure, or approximately 2400 grammes.[10]

If the main staple in our area today is wheat, the Zakāt al-Fiṭr for one person is equivalent to three litres of wheat. The position of Imam ash-Shāfiʿī’s school is that it is not sufficient to merely pay the monetary value. Rather, it must be paid in the form of the main staple of that area. There is nothing wrong, however, with following the school of Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, in this issue in this age, which is that it is permissible to pay its monetary value. This is because the monetary value is of more benefit to the poor person than the actual staple crop,[11] and is more conducive to realising the desired objective.

When to Pay Zakāt al-Fiṭr:

As we have already mentioned, it becomes obligatory to pay it once the sun has set on the last day of Ramaḍān.

It is permissible to pay it anytime in the month of Ramaḍān as well as the first day of Eid.[12]

It is recommended, however, to pay it on the morning of Eid day before going out to the prayer. In the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar L in al-Bukhārī’s (1432) narration, he says, ‘…and he commanded that it be paid before the people went out to the prayer’.

It is disliked to delay paying it until after the Eid Prayer, until the end of Eid day.[13] To delay paying it any further is sinful and one must make it up.

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[1]  (tn): i.e. the zakāt of breaking of one’s fast at the end of Ramaḍān.

[2] (tn): i.e. four amdād (the plural of mudd) according to the mudd of the Prophet e, which is currently about 2.75 kilogrammes, and some say it is 3, and it is better to err on the side of caution. See at-Taqrīrāt as-Sadīdah, 419. In fluid measurements, it is 2.03 litres. See Reliance of the Traveller, 263.

[3] Ar. al-kāfir al-aṣlī, i.e. someone who has never been a Muslim, as opposed to an apostate (murtadd).

[4] (tn): i.e. starting from sunset on the last day of Ramaḍān.
[5] Ar. uṣul, i.e. parents, grandparents, etc.
[6] Ar. furūʿ, i.e. his children, grandchildren, etc.
[7] Ar. tawkīl.

[8] (tn): i.e. a milk that is allowed to sour and congeal so that it becomes solid and can be cooked or cooked with. See al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ, 22.

[9] (tn): i.e. what is scooped with two hands as opposed to just one.

[10] (tn): Please see the footnote above about the quantity of a ṣāʿ; when there are different measurements, it is safer, and therefore better, to go with the largest quantity.

[11] (tn): For example, a poor person might not have the means to cook or prepare wheat, barley, rice, and so forth.

[12] (tn): i.e. the first day of Shawwāl.

[13] (tn): i.e. it remains disliked, which means it is still permissible and not sinful, until sunset on the first day of Shawwāl.