The basis for the prescription of zakat al-fitr and the types of zakah
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The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh Salih, and as we are at the end of this month, there is zakat al-fitr. Perhaps you could speak about the basis for the prescription of zakat al-fitr?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, the word zakah means, linguistically, growth, increase, and purification. These are the meanings of zakah in language and in the Shari'ah. Zakah is of three types. The first type is the purification of the self, which is by cleansing it from sins and disobedience and adorning it with acts of obedience and nearness to Allah. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:[Ash-Shams 91:7-9] meaning that he purified his self through obedience and kept it away from disobedience.
As for purifying the self in the sense of praising oneself, praising one's work, and being proud of oneself or one's work, this is prohibited. He, the Exalted, said:[An-Najm 53:32] He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said: [An-Nisa 4:49] So a person should not praise himself, or praise his work, or be proud of himself or his work, for that is prohibited.
The second type is the zakah of wealth, for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made obligatory in the wealth of the rich a right for the poor. He, the Exalted, said:[Adh-Dhariyat 51:19] He, the Exalted, said: and [Al-Ma'arij 70:24-25] Zakah, meaning the zakah of wealth, came as a companion to prayer in many verses of the Qur'an. He, the Exalted, said: [An-Nur 24:56] So it is the companion of prayer and its sister in the Book of Sunan an-Nasa'i 3091Sahih (Darussalam).
The third type of zakah is zakat al-fitr, and it is a purification of the body. Zakat al-fitr is a purification of the body. It becomes obligatory at the end of the month of Ramadan. It is obligatory upon the young and the old, the male and the female, the free person and the slave. So it is a purification of the souls and is paid at the completion of the month of Ramadan. Yes.
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh Salih, and as we are at the end of this month, there is zakat al-fitr. Perhaps you could speak about the basis for the prescription of zakat al-fitr?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, the word zakah means, linguistically, growth, increase, and purification. These are the meanings of zakah in language and in the Shari'ah. Zakah is of three types. The first type is the purification of the self, which is by cleansing it from sins and disobedience and adorning it with acts of obedience and nearness to Allah. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:
(7) And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it (8) And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness, (9) He has succeeded who purifies it,
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَاAs for purifying the self in the sense of praising oneself, praising one's work, and being proud of oneself or one's work, this is prohibited. He, the Exalted, said:
So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him.
فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰHave you not seen those who claim themselves to be pure? Rather, Allah purifies whom He wills, and injustice is not done to them, [even] as much as a thread [inside a date seed].
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يُزَكُّونَ أَنفُسَهُم بَلِ اللَّهُ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاءُ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًاThe second type is the zakah of wealth, for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made obligatory in the wealth of the rich a right for the poor. He, the Exalted, said:
And from their properties was [given] the right of the [needy] petitioner and the deprived.
وَفِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ لِّلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِwithin whose wealth is a known right (25) For the petitioner and the deprived -
فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ لِّلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِAnd establish prayer and give zakah
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَI will surely fight those who separate prayer and Zakah
الله، ولهذا قال أبو بكر رضي الله عنه والله لأقاتلن من فرق بين الصلاة والزكاةThe third type of zakah is zakat al-fitr, and it is a purification of the body. Zakat al-fitr is a purification of the body. It becomes obligatory at the end of the month of Ramadan. It is obligatory upon the young and the old, the male and the female, the free person and the slave. So it is a purification of the souls and is paid at the completion of the month of Ramadan. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 25 من 28|من أحكام الصيام|زكاة الفطر|صالح الفوزان|فقه|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (0:43)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.