Paying the value in zakat al-fitr
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Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. After that:
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency, the Director of the Office of the International Islamic Relief Agency in Jeddah Province, in his letter number (205/1364/30) dated 18/10/1430 AH, which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (1483) and date 25/10/1430 AH. His Excellency asked questions concerning zakat al-fitr. After the Committee studied them, it answered as follows: First question: What is the ruling on paying zakat al-fitr in cash instead of food?
The answer: It is not permissible to pay the value in zakat al-fitr; because this is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded regarding paying food in it. This was stated in the decision of the Council of Senior Scholars number (144) dated 11/7/1408 AH, which reads: “The Council unanimously holds that it is not permissible to pay the value in zakat al-fitr, but rather it must be paid in food, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made it obligatory, and this is established by the hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and practice has followed this; because zakat al-fitr is an act of worship. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specified what it is to be paid from, which is food. There is no doubt that the poor and needy in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the time of his Rightly Guided Caliphs included those who needed clothing
and other necessities besides food, due to their large numbers and the many years in which zakat al-fitr was paid. Yet it is not known that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) considered the difference in the type of need and prescribed for each person what suited their need, whether food, clothing, or the like. Nor is this known about his Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them). Rather, what was known from all of them was paying zakat al-fitr from food. It is better for the Ummah to follow the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Caliphs in this. The poor person who needs something other than food can dispose of the food given to him according to his need and benefit.” End of quote.
Second question: What is the ruling on transferring the value of zakat al-fitr outside the town in which it was paid?
The answer: It is not permissible to transfer the value of the zakat outside the country to buy food to be distributed there. A decision was issued by the Council of Senior Scholars number (144) dated 1/7/1408 AH, which stated: “The Council reviewed the statements of some scholars from the four schools of jurisprudence regarding the place of distribution of zakat al-fitr, where they stated—may Allah have mercy on them—that it is obligatory for the Muslim to distribute it in the town in which it became obligatory upon him. The decision states: Given that permitting the transfer of zakat al-fitr from the town in which it became obligatory to other distant lands, while there are poor people in the same town where it became obligatory or in its vicinity,
takes it outside what is intended by it in the Shari'ah; therefore, the Council decides the following: First: The Council unanimously holds that the prescribed practice is to distribute zakat al-fitr in every town to its poor, and not to transfer it from them to others, in order to realize a great purpose among the purposes for which zakat al-fitr was made obligatory, which is to make the poor people present in the town on the day of the festival independent of begging and seeking to earn a livelihood on that day. The claim by some that there are no poor people to whom it can be paid is incorrect; rather, they are present, but the lack of knowledge about them results from not making an effort to search for them and investigate their locations.” End of the intended quote. Third question: What is the ruling on spending zakat al-fitr in the Agency’s other projects, including human development, or health and educational programs, and what is the permissibility of distributing it to projects throughout the year according to their needs, without being restricted by the condition of paying it before the festival prayer? The answer: It is not permissible to spend the charity of fitr in the projects of the International Relief Agency, such as human development and health and educational projects, nor is it permissible to withhold it to be distributed throughout the year according to their needs, without being restricted by the condition of paying it before the festival prayer, as stated in the question; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) set the end of its payment as the performance of the festival prayer, so it is not permissible to delay its payment beyond
its prescribed time, as this would cause the intended purpose to be missed; because the purpose of paying it is to make the poor independent of begging and seeking to earn a livelihood on this day.
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency, the Director of the Office of the International Islamic Relief Agency in Jeddah Province, in his letter number (205/1364/30) dated 18/10/1430 AH, which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (1483) and date 25/10/1430 AH. His Excellency asked questions concerning zakat al-fitr. After the Committee studied them, it answered as follows: First question: What is the ruling on paying zakat al-fitr in cash instead of food?
The answer: It is not permissible to pay the value in zakat al-fitr; because this is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded regarding paying food in it. This was stated in the decision of the Council of Senior Scholars number (144) dated 11/7/1408 AH, which reads: “The Council unanimously holds that it is not permissible to pay the value in zakat al-fitr, but rather it must be paid in food, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made it obligatory, and this is established by the hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and practice has followed this; because zakat al-fitr is an act of worship. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specified what it is to be paid from, which is food. There is no doubt that the poor and needy in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the time of his Rightly Guided Caliphs included those who needed clothing
and other necessities besides food, due to their large numbers and the many years in which zakat al-fitr was paid. Yet it is not known that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) considered the difference in the type of need and prescribed for each person what suited their need, whether food, clothing, or the like. Nor is this known about his Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them). Rather, what was known from all of them was paying zakat al-fitr from food. It is better for the Ummah to follow the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Caliphs in this. The poor person who needs something other than food can dispose of the food given to him according to his need and benefit.” End of quote.
Second question: What is the ruling on transferring the value of zakat al-fitr outside the town in which it was paid?
The answer: It is not permissible to transfer the value of the zakat outside the country to buy food to be distributed there. A decision was issued by the Council of Senior Scholars number (144) dated 1/7/1408 AH, which stated: “The Council reviewed the statements of some scholars from the four schools of jurisprudence regarding the place of distribution of zakat al-fitr, where they stated—may Allah have mercy on them—that it is obligatory for the Muslim to distribute it in the town in which it became obligatory upon him. The decision states: Given that permitting the transfer of zakat al-fitr from the town in which it became obligatory to other distant lands, while there are poor people in the same town where it became obligatory or in its vicinity,
takes it outside what is intended by it in the Shari'ah; therefore, the Council decides the following: First: The Council unanimously holds that the prescribed practice is to distribute zakat al-fitr in every town to its poor, and not to transfer it from them to others, in order to realize a great purpose among the purposes for which zakat al-fitr was made obligatory, which is to make the poor people present in the town on the day of the festival independent of begging and seeking to earn a livelihood on that day. The claim by some that there are no poor people to whom it can be paid is incorrect; rather, they are present, but the lack of knowledge about them results from not making an effort to search for them and investigate their locations.” End of the intended quote. Third question: What is the ruling on spending zakat al-fitr in the Agency’s other projects, including human development, or health and educational programs, and what is the permissibility of distributing it to projects throughout the year according to their needs, without being restricted by the condition of paying it before the festival prayer? The answer: It is not permissible to spend the charity of fitr in the projects of the International Relief Agency, such as human development and health and educational projects, nor is it permissible to withhold it to be distributed throughout the year according to their needs, without being restricted by the condition of paying it before the festival prayer, as stated in the question; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) set the end of its payment as the performance of the festival prayer, so it is not permissible to delay its payment beyond
its prescribed time, as this would cause the intended purpose to be missed; because the purpose of paying it is to make the poor independent of begging and seeking to earn a livelihood on this day.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.