بسم الله الرَّحمان الرَّحيم
From Sayyid Saabiq’s Fiqh us-Sunnah
With commentary by Muhammad Naasir ad-Deen al-Albaanee from Tamaam ul-Minnah fit-Ta‘leeq ‘alaa Fiqh as-Sunnah [1]

Introduction

Zakaat ul-fitr is a type of sadaqah which must be paid by every Muslim, young and old, male and female, free and slave, at the end of the month of fasting (Ramadhaan).

Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim relate from Ibn ‘Umar that he said, “The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) enjoined the payment of o­ne saa‘ [2] of dates or o­ne saa‘ of barley as zakaat ul-fitr o­n every Muslim, young and old, male and female, free and slave.”

The Purpose of Zakaat ul-Fitr

Zakaat ul-fitr was made obligatory in the month of Sha‘baan during the second year after Hijrah. Its purpose is to purify o­ne who fasts from any indecent act or speech and to help the poor and needy. This view is based upon the hadeeth reported by Abu Daawood, Ibn Maajah, and ad-Daraqutnee from Ibn ‘Abbaas;

“The Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) enjoined zakaat ul-fitr o­n the o­ne who fasts to shield o­ne’s self from any indecent act or speech and to provide food for the needy.”

It is accepted as zakaat ul-fitr for the person who pays it before the ‘eed prayer, and it in counts o­nly as sadaqah for the o­ne who pays it after the prayer.

Who Must Pay Zakaat ul-Fitr

Zakaat ul-Fitr is incumbent o­n every free Muslim who possesses o­ne saa‘ of dates or barley which is not needed as a basic food for himself or his family for the duration of o­ne day and night. Every free Muslim must pay zakaat ul-fitr for himself, his wife, children and servants.

The Amount of Zakaat ul-Fitr

The required amount of zakaat ul-Fitr is o­ne saa‘ of wheat, barley, rasins, dry yogurt, rice, corn, or similar items considered as basic foods. Abu Hanifah considered it permissible to set aside, as zakaat ul-Fitr, an equivalent value and also said that if the payer pays in wheat, o­ne-half of a saa‘ would be sufficient. Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudree reported;

“We used to give o­n behalf of every child, elderly person, free person or slave during the lifetime of Allaah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم), o­ne saa‘ of food, or o­ne saa‘ of dried yogurt, or o­ne saa‘ of barley, or o­ne saa‘ of dates, or o­ne saa‘ of raisins as zakaat ul-Fitr. We continued to do so until Mu‘awiyyah came to us to perform Hajj, or ‘Umrah. He then addressed the people from the minbar and said; ‘I see that two mudds [3] of Syrian wheat equals o­ne saa‘ of dates.’ The people accepted that.”

However, Abu Sa‘eed contended:

“I will continue to give as I used to give, o­ne saa‘, as long as I live.” This is related by the group.

At-Tirmithee remarked: “This is acted upon by some scholars, in each case, they give o­ne saa‘. This is the opinion of Ash-Shaafi‘ee, Ahmad, and Ishaaq. Some other people of knowledge, among the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) and otherwise, say o­ne saa‘ from any type of grain except wheat, of which o­nly half a saa‘ would be sufficient. This is the saying of Sufyaan ath-Thawree, Ibn al-Mubaarak, and the scholars of Kufah.”

Al-Albaanee’s comments o­n the Hadeeth of Abu Sa‘eed (رضي الله عنه)

The author attempts to prove by it that the amount given for wheat is a saa‘ due to the saying “...saa‘ of food.” This is based upon what al-Khataabee said, that is that the word “food” here means wheat. But Ibn al-Munthir refuted this by saying that Abu Sa‘eed mentioned the term food, then he explained what he meant by it. Now the same hadeeth of Abu Sa‘eed is recorded by al-Bukhaaree with the wording;

“On the day of Fitr, during the time of Allaah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم), we would give a saa‘ of food. Abu Sa‘eed said, “And our food was barley, raisins, dried yogurt, and dates.”

Al-Haafiz (Ibn Hajar) said;

“He is clarifying what he meant.”

At-Tahaawee recorded it also but it includes;

“And not other than that.”

Then al-Haafiz mentioned other routes and wordings of Abu Sa‘eed’s hadeeth, after which he says;

“And all of these transmissions proove that the word food in the hadeeth of Abu Sa‘eed is not wheat, but it indicates that it was millet [similar to corn], it is well known until today to the people of the ‘Arabian peninsula, as it is eaten by most of them.”

I say: So it should be clear that this hadeeth does not qualify as proof for what the author intended. Additionally he makes it seem that there is no bases for the position of the mathhab of Abu Hanifah supporting giving half a saa‘ of wheat - except what comes in the hadeeth of Abu Sa‘eed about Mu‘aawiyah considering two mudds of wheat to be equal to o­ne saa‘ of dates. But this in fact is not the case. Rather there are hadeeths reaching up to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم), and the most authentic of them is the hadeeth of ‘Urwah Bin az-Zubayr;

“During the time of Allaah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم), Asmaa’ Bint Abu Bakr used to pay for her household - for both the free and the owned - two mudds of wheat, or o­ne saa‘ of dates measured by hand, or according to the saa‘ they had fixed.”

This was recorded by at-Tahaawee, and this is his wording. It was also recorded by Ibn Abee Shaybah, and Ahmad, and its chain is authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhaaree and Muslim. Then in the category of reports from the companions, [there are a variety], some strengthening others, as Ibn al-Qayyim said in Zaad ul-M‘aad, where he quotes them, so o­ne may reference it if he wishes, and I have shown their routes in at-Ta‘leeqaat al-Jeeyaad.

So from this it is confirmed that the amount of wheat given for sadaqat ul-fitr is half of a saa‘, and this is the position selected by Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah in al-Ikhtiyaaraat (p. 60) and Ibn al-Qayyim opted for it as noted above, and it is indeed the truth, if Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى) wills. [End of comment.]

When Zakaat ul-Fitr is Due

The fuquhaa agree that zakaat ul-fitr is due at the end of Ramadhaan. They differ, however, about the exact time.

Ath-Thawree, Ahmad, Ishaaq, and ash-Shaafi’ee (in his later opinion) and Maalik (in o­ne of his reports) are of the opinion that it is due at the sunset of the night of breaking the fast, for this is when the fast of Ramadhaan ends. Abu Hanifah, al-Layth, ash-Shaafi’ee (in his earlier opinion) and the second report of Maalik say that zakaat ul-fitr is due at the start of fajr o­n the day of ‘eed.

These two different views acquire relevance if a child is born after sunset but before dawn o­n the day of the ‘eed; the question then is whether zakaat ul-fitr is due o­n the child or not. In accordance with the first view, it is not since the birth took place after the prescribed time, while according to the second view, it is due because the birth took place within the prescribed space of time.

Paying Zakaat ul-Fitr in Advance

Most scholars believe that it is permissable to pay zakaat ul-fitr a day or two before the ‘eed. Ibn ‘Umar reports that the Mesenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) ordered them to pay zakaat ul-fitr before the people went out to perform the ‘eed prayers. Naaf‘i reports that ‘Umar used to pay it a day or two before the end of Ramadhaan. However, scholars hold different opinions when a longer time period is involved. According to Abu Hanifah, it is permissible to pay it even before Ramadhaan. Ash-Shaafi’ee holds that it is permissible to do so at the beginning of Ramadhaan. Maalik and Ahmad (in his well-known view) maintain that it is permissible to pay it o­nly o­ne or two days in advance.