Section
Eleven - The rulings pertaining
to zakaah al-fitr
The
ruling of Zakaatul-Fitr
The
ruling regarding forgetting to discharge
the Zakaatul-Fitr
Failing
to discharge the Zakaatul-Fitr before
the `Eed prayer
Dispatched
Zakaatul-Fitr to my country
The
payment of Zakaatul-Fitr in money
The
ruling of Zakaatul-Fitr
Question:
Is Zakaatul-Fitr obligatory or (just)
recommended? And upon whom is it obligatory?
Response:
Zakaatul-Fitr is obligatory upon the Muslims
because the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe
wa sallam) legislated it upon the male
and the female and the young and the old.
And he specified it to be one saa' of
food or dates or barley or raisins or
cheese (one saa' is equal to four mudd,
and one mudd is equal to the amount held
by cupping the two hands together. It
is a measure by volume and not by weight).
And he commanded that it be discharged
before the people leave to perform the
`Eed prayer. So it is a Prophetic obligation
which has been legislated for the last
part of Ramadan as a purification for
the fasting one from any mistake or sexual
intercourse (which may have come to pass).
And it is food for the needy such that
they do not have to wander around asking
(begging). And with Allaah is the success.
Shaykh
Ibn Jibreen / (Fataawa Ramadan, Volume
2/Page 902/Fatwa No.885), also (Fataawa
as-Siyaam libni Jibreen, Page 188)
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The
ruling regarding forgetting to discharge
the Zakaatul-Fitr
Question:
What is the ruling regarding the one who
had not discharged the Zakaatul-Fitr until
during the (`Eed) khutbah (sermon) after
the `Eed prayer, and that is because he
had forgotten?
Response:
Discharging the Zakaatul-Fitr before the
(`Eed) prayer is obligatory, and whoever
forgets then there is nothing upon him
except to discharge it after that. This
is because it is an obligation so it is
upon him to discharge it when he remembers,
and it is not permissible for anyone to
intentionally delay it until after the
`Eed prayer according to the most correct
of the two opinions. This is because the
Messenger (saw) commanded the Muslims
to discharge it before the `Eed prayer.
Shaykh
Ibn Baaz / (Fataawa Ramadan, Volume 2/
Page 931-932/ Fatwa No. 914), also (Majmoo'
Fataawa Samaahatu ash-Shaykh 'Abdul Azeez
Ibn 'Abdullaah Ibn Baaz, Volume 3/ Page
101)
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Failing
to discharge the Zakaatul-Fitr before
the `Eed prayer
Question:
If one does discharge the Zakaatul-Fitr
before the `Eed prayer, is he relieved
(of this obligation)?
Response:
One who does discharge the Zakaatul-Fitr
before the `Eed prayer then he is a sinner
and he is not relieved (of this obligation),
rather he must discharge it afterwards.
Shaykh
Ibn Jibreen / (Fataawa Ramadan, Volume
2/Page 932/Fatwa No.915), also (Fataawa
as-Siyaam libni Jibreen, Page 187)
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Dispatched
Zakaatul-Fitr to my country
Question:
I dispatched the Zakaatul-Fitr, specifically
pertaining to myself, to my family so
that they can discharge it in my country.
Is this action correct?
Response:
(This is) not a problem, (and) you shall
be rewarded inshaa.-Allaah. Discharging
it in your area is better, so that you
discharge it to the needy in the area
in whch you reside, and this is better.
However, if you dispatched it to your
family to discharge it to the needy in
your country then that is not a problem.
Shaykh
Ibn Baaz / (Fataawa Ramadan, Volume 2/
Page 941/ Fatwa No. 929), also (Majmoo'
Fataawa Samaahatu ash-Shaykh 'Abdul Azeez
Ibn 'Abdullaah Ibn Baaz, Volume 3/ Page
97)
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The
payment of Zakaatul-Fitr in money
Question:
Is it permissible to discharge the obligation
of Zakaatul-Fitr on the first day of Ramadan?
And is it permissible to distribute it
in money?
Response:
As for the discharging of it on the first
day of Ramadan - there is Ikhtilaaf (difference
of opinion among the scholars) about it.
The most correct opinion is that it's
not permissible, because it is called
Zakaatul-Fitr, and al-Fitr (ending of
the fast) does not occur except at the
end of the month. Also, the Messenger
of Allaah [sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam]
ordered that it be discharged before the
people go out to the Prayer (Salaatul-`Eed).
Along with that, the companions (Sahaabah)
used to give out the Zakaatul-Fitr one
or two days before the `Eed. As for discharging
the Zakaatul-Fitr in MONEY, this is a
point of Ikhtilaf (difference among the
scholars). And the correct opinion - as
I see it - is that it is not discharged
except by (distribution of) FOOD. This
is because Ibn 'Umar [radhi-yallaahu 'anhumaa]
said: "The Messenger of Allaah [sal-Allaahu
`alayhe wa sallam] made obligatory (the
payment of) Zakaatul-Fitr from a Saa'
of dates or a Saa' of barley..." (Bukhaaree
2:579), (One Saa' is equal to four (4)
Mudd, and one (1) Mudd is equal to the
amount held by cupping the two hands together.
It is a measure by volume not by weight).
Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudree [radhi-yallaahu
'anhu] said: "We used to distribute it
(Zakaatul-Fitr) in the time of the Messenger
of Allaah [sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam]
as one saa' of food, and our food was
dates and barley and raisins and cottage
cheese..."( Bukhaaree 2:582). So, it becomes
clear from these two hadeeth that it (Zakaatul-Fitr)
is not discharged except from FOOD. And
the distribution of it in food displays
it openly and shows it, and all of the
members of the family know about it. In
this way, there is an exhibition or manifestation
of this aspect of the religion. As for
discharging it in money, this causes it
to be concealed (unseen), and perhaps
the person may favor himself, by discharging
it in money, and thus reduce its amount.
(As the amount would differ if we compare
the value of one saa' of dates to one
saa' of barley for example. Since a saa'
of barley is about 7 riyals ($2.00), while
a saa' of dates ranges -according to quality
- from 25 riyals ($7.00) for a lesser
quality to 42 riyals ($12.00) for a medium
quality, to 175 riyals ($49.00) for the
best quality per saa'.)Therefore, strictly
following the Law (al-Qur'aan and Sunnah)
is best and it is blessed. Someone might
argue that the distribution of food doesn't
benefit the poor. (But, we say) the poor
person - if truly poor - must definitely
benefit from the food.
Shaykh
Ibn al-'Uthaymeen / (Fataawa Ramadan,
Volume 2/Page 935/Fatwa No.921), also
(Fataawa ash-Shaykh Muhammad as-Saalih
al-'Uthaymeen, Volume 1/ Page 463)
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