Zakaat al-Fitr: The amount that must be paid and those who should pay it
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‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar reported:
عَنْ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ فَرَضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ زَكَاةَ الْفِطْرِ صَاعًا مِنْ تَمْرِ أَوْ صَاعًا مِنْ الشعير عَلَى الْعبد وَالحُرُ وَالذَّكَرِ وَالأُنثى والصغير والكبير من المسلمين وأمر بها أن تولى قبل خروج الناس إلى الصلاة . ( البخاري )
“Allah’s Messenger ﷺ enjoined the payment of one saa’of dates or barley as Zakaat al-Fitr on every Muslim; slave or free, male or female, young or old, and he ordered that it be paid before the people went out to offer the ‘Eed prayer.” (Al-Bukhaan)
Zakaat al-Fitr is a duty which is obligatory on every Muslim, male female, child and adult who has the means to do so.
Allah ﷻ says:
فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا ٱسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ وَأَنفِقُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا لِّأَنفُسِكُمْ ۗ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ ( سورة التغابن : ١٦ )
“So fear Allah as much as you are able and listen and obey and spend [in the way of Allah]; it is better for yourselves. And whosoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul – it is those who will be successful [Soorat at-Taghabun:16]
Zakaat al-Fitr is not required from one who does not possess a day’s worth of food, as Allah ﷻ does not burden a soul except with what it can bear. Whoever possesses more than a day’s worth of food and gives it (as Zakaat al-Fitr) this will be sufficient.
Allah ﷻ has made Zakat al-Fitr compulsory on all Muslims and that Muslims must make the effort to honor this obligation. The head of a household must pay Zakaat al-Fitr on behalf of the other members of his house.
Aboo Sa’eed Al-Khudri narrated
عن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه قال : كنا نخرج زكاة الفطر ، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فينا ، عن كل صغير وكبير ، حر ومملوك . من ثلاثة أصناف : صاعا من تمر . صاعا من أقط . صاعا من شعير ( مسلم )
“On behalf of our young and old, free men and slaves, we used to take out [Zakaat al-Fitr] during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah, one saa’ of grain, cheese, or raisins.” [Muslim]
Aboo Sa’eed Al-Khudri narrated:
عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدِ الْخُدْرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ كُنَّا نُخْرِجُ عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمَ الْفِطْرِ صَاعًا مِنْ طَعَامٍ وَقَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ وَكَانَ طَعَامَنَا الشَّعِيرُ وَالرَّبِيبُ وَالْأَهْلُ وَالتَّمْرُ ( البخاري)
“In the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger, we used to give one saa’ of food (edible things) as Zakat al-Fitr (to the poor). Our food used to be either of barley, raisins, aqit (dried yoghurt or cottage cheese) or dates. [Al-Bukhaan].
From the above mentioned ahaadeeth we can deduce that the amount of Zakaat al-Fitr is one saa’. One saa’ is approximately 2 kilograms or four handfuls. Zakaat al-Fitr is usually given from the regular staple diet of the people of that specific country, such as barley, wheat, dried dates, rice, raisins or cottage cheese. It is preferable that Zakaat al-Fitr be given from the types of food of that country and that money should not be given in place of it, except if there is a desperate need to do so.
The types of food of a particular region may deviate from the given, to include foods such as flour and ground beef in the United States for example. Items other than food, such as money, clothes, furniture, etc. should not be given as Zakaat al-Fitr.
The ruling with regard to the distribution of Zakaat al-Fitr is the same as that of Zakah. It can be given to any of the eight categories mentioned with regard to Zakah. The same rules as to who cannot receive Zakah will apply here.
- It is thus permissible for a wealthy woman to pay her Zakaat al-Fitr to her husband, who is poor, however, the opposite is not permissible. This is because the maintenance of the woman is obligatory upon the man and the maintenance of the man is not obligatory upon the woman. In the same way a man may not give Zakaat al-Fitr to any of his direct dependants such as his father, mother, son, daughter, etc.
- Zakaat al-Fitr is also obligatory upon the Muslim in the land in which he resides. He should not transfer Zakaat al-Fitr from one country to another, except if it is done as an emergency.
- The significant role played by Zakah in the circulation of wealth within the Islamic society is also played by Zakaat al-Fitr. However, in the case of Zakaat al-Fitr, each individual is required to calculate how much charity is due from himself and his dependents and go into the community in order to find those who deserve such charity. Therefore, Zakaat al-Fitr plays a very important role in the development of social solidarity. Through Zakah, the rich come into direct contact with the poor, and the poor make contact with those who are the poorest. This social contact helps to build true bonds of brotherhood, love and respect within the Islamic community and inculcates the habit of sharing among Muslims for the sake of Allah ﷻ .
