When is zakat al-fitr to be given, what is its amount, and is it permissible to increase it or give it in money?
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The questioner : The questioner says: When is zakat al-fitr to be given, and what is its amount?
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : When is zakat al-fitr to be given, what is its amount, is it permissible to increase it, and is it permissible to give it in money?
The Shaykh : And is it permissible, what?
The questioner : Is it permissible to increase it, and is it permissible to give it in money?
The Shaykh : In money?
The questioner : Yes, indeed.
The Shaykh : Zakat al-fitr is the food that a person gives out at the end of Ramadan, and its amount is a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg). Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said:Sunan ad-Darimi 3:42 And Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 1827Hasan (Darussalam) So it is a sa' of food, according to what people eat. The food common among us now is: dates, wheat, and rice.
The student: Sugar, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : No, sugar. Do you eat sugar or put it in your tea?!
In any case, you give out a sa' of food. If we are in a place where people eat corn, they give it from corn; if they eat wheat, from wheat; if they eat rice, from rice; if they eat dates, from dates; if they eat raisins, from raisins; if they eat dried curds, from dried curds. In any case, it is a sa' of food. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said:.
As for the time of giving it, it is the morning of the festival, before the prayer, based on the statement of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father):Sunan an-Nasa'i 2521Sahih (Darussalam) This is a marfu' (a report traced to the Prophet) hadith, meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And in the hadith of Ibn Abbas as well: Sunan Abi Dawud 1609Hasan (Al-Albani).
But it is permissible to give it one or two days before the festival, and not more than that, because it is called zakat al-fitr, attached to what? To the breaking of the fast. So it cannot be before the breaking of the fast. If we said it was permissible at the beginning of the month, we would have called it zakat al-siyam (alms of fasting), not zakat al-fitr. So it is a zakat of breaking the fast, fixed for the day of the festival before the prayer. And a dispensation (rukhsah) was granted to give it one or two days before the festival. Accordingly, we give it on the twenty-ninth day, meaning the day after tomorrow, Thursday in this year, the year 1409.
Now, as for giving it in something other than food, it is not permissible. It is not permissible to give it in anything other than food, because giving it in anything other than food contradicts the obligation (fard) established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for it. He made it obligatory as a sa' of dates or barley, as Ibn Umar said. And whatever contradicts what Allah and His Messenger have made obligatory is rejected, based on the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 1718b And whoever prefers a matter that is contrary to the Shari'ah, his preference is an error, because the Shari'ah comes from the Wise, the All-Aware. And we do not know; perhaps one day the sa' of wheat will equal the sa' of gold. So it is obligatory for us to keep what Allah and His Messenger have made obligatory as they made it obligatory.
If someone says: If you give the poor person a sa' of rice, for example, worth five riyals, he might sell it for four riyals. So giving him the value of five riyals is better than him selling it for four riyals.
We say: It is obligatory for us, the givers, to give what we were commanded to give, which is a sa' of food. And the fact that this poor person sells it for less than its current price or more, we are not responsible for that. We are responsible for doing what we were commanded to do. And if it leaves our hands in the manner we were commanded, we have no concern with the rest.
As for increasing beyond the sa', if a person increases it as an act of worship to Allah and to reduce the sa', then this is a bid'ah (religious innovation). But if a person increases it as sadaqah (voluntary charity), not as zakat al-fitr, then this is permissible and there is no harm in it, and no blame. But I see that restricting it to what the Shari'ah has quantified is better. And if he wants to give charity, let it be in a separate manner. There is no harm in me giving these people ten sa' of zakat al-fitr, and then after that sending them ten bags of sa' as charity.
So the important thing is that increasing beyond the sa' is permissible if he does not intend it to be zakat, but intends it to be charity. And even so, it is better to restrict it to the sa'.
But many people say that it is difficult for them to measure, because they do not have a measuring vessel. Is it permissible for me to buy something I am sure is more than the obligatory amount, so I increase and take precaution in that?
The answer is that this is permissible and there is no harm. If a person buys a bag of rice, estimating that it contains five sa' or more, and he needs five sa' for the zakat al-fitr, and he buys this bag and gives it, there is no harm in that.
The student: What is its amount?
The Shaykh : As for the amount of the sa', we have tested it and found that it weighs two kilograms and forty grams of good, dense wheat. So you take a vessel, then weigh two kilograms and forty grams of dense wheat, then put it in this vessel. If it fills it, make this vessel the sa'. And is this possible or not possible?
The student: Possible.
The Shaykh : It is possible. You weigh two kilograms and forty grams of dense wheat. If you weigh it, put it in a vessel, such that this wheat fills this vessel. Then after that, measure by this amount.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : When is zakat al-fitr to be given, what is its amount, is it permissible to increase it, and is it permissible to give it in money?
The Shaykh : And is it permissible, what?
The questioner : Is it permissible to increase it, and is it permissible to give it in money?
The Shaykh : In money?
The questioner : Yes, indeed.
The Shaykh : Zakat al-fitr is the food that a person gives out at the end of Ramadan, and its amount is a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg). Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made zakat al-fitr obligatory from Ramadan as a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley
فرض النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم زكاة الفطر من رمضان صاعا من تمر أو صاعا من شعيرThe Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) enjoined Zakatul-Fitr as a purification for the fasting person from idle talk and obscenities, and to feed the poor.
فرض النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم صدقة الفطر طهرة للصائم من اللغو والرفث وطعمة للمساكينThe student: Sugar, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : No, sugar. Do you eat sugar or put it in your tea?!
In any case, you give out a sa' of food. If we are in a place where people eat corn, they give it from corn; if they eat wheat, from wheat; if they eat rice, from rice; if they eat dates, from dates; if they eat raisins, from raisins; if they eat dried curds, from dried curds. In any case, it is a sa' of food. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
We used to give it in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a sa' of food, and our food at that time was dates, barley, raisins, and dried curds
كنا نخرجها على عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم صاعا من طعام وكان طعامنا يومئذ التمر والشعير والزبيب والأقطAs for the time of giving it, it is the morning of the festival, before the prayer, based on the statement of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father):
the Messenger of Allah enjoined that Sadaqatul Fitr should be given before the people go out to pray
وأمر أن تؤدى قبل خروج الناس إلى الصلاةHe ordered
أمرIf anyone pays it before the prayer (of 'Id), it will be accepted as zakat. If anyone pays it after the prayer, that will be a sadaqah like other sadaqahs (alms).
من أداها قبل الصلاة فهي زكاة مقبولة ومن أداها بعدها فهي صدقة من الصدقاتBut it is permissible to give it one or two days before the festival, and not more than that, because it is called zakat al-fitr, attached to what? To the breaking of the fast. So it cannot be before the breaking of the fast. If we said it was permissible at the beginning of the month, we would have called it zakat al-siyam (alms of fasting), not zakat al-fitr. So it is a zakat of breaking the fast, fixed for the day of the festival before the prayer. And a dispensation (rukhsah) was granted to give it one or two days before the festival. Accordingly, we give it on the twenty-ninth day, meaning the day after tomorrow, Thursday in this year, the year 1409.
Now, as for giving it in something other than food, it is not permissible. It is not permissible to give it in anything other than food, because giving it in anything other than food contradicts the obligation (fard) established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for it. He made it obligatory as a sa' of dates or barley, as Ibn Umar said. And whatever contradicts what Allah and His Messenger have made obligatory is rejected, based on the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملا ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردIf someone says: If you give the poor person a sa' of rice, for example, worth five riyals, he might sell it for four riyals. So giving him the value of five riyals is better than him selling it for four riyals.
We say: It is obligatory for us, the givers, to give what we were commanded to give, which is a sa' of food. And the fact that this poor person sells it for less than its current price or more, we are not responsible for that. We are responsible for doing what we were commanded to do. And if it leaves our hands in the manner we were commanded, we have no concern with the rest.
As for increasing beyond the sa', if a person increases it as an act of worship to Allah and to reduce the sa', then this is a bid'ah (religious innovation). But if a person increases it as sadaqah (voluntary charity), not as zakat al-fitr, then this is permissible and there is no harm in it, and no blame. But I see that restricting it to what the Shari'ah has quantified is better. And if he wants to give charity, let it be in a separate manner. There is no harm in me giving these people ten sa' of zakat al-fitr, and then after that sending them ten bags of sa' as charity.
So the important thing is that increasing beyond the sa' is permissible if he does not intend it to be zakat, but intends it to be charity. And even so, it is better to restrict it to the sa'.
But many people say that it is difficult for them to measure, because they do not have a measuring vessel. Is it permissible for me to buy something I am sure is more than the obligatory amount, so I increase and take precaution in that?
The answer is that this is permissible and there is no harm. If a person buys a bag of rice, estimating that it contains five sa' or more, and he needs five sa' for the zakat al-fitr, and he buys this bag and gives it, there is no harm in that.
The student: What is its amount?
The Shaykh : As for the amount of the sa', we have tested it and found that it weighs two kilograms and forty grams of good, dense wheat. So you take a vessel, then weigh two kilograms and forty grams of dense wheat, then put it in this vessel. If it fills it, make this vessel the sa'. And is this possible or not possible?
The student: Possible.
The Shaykh : It is possible. You weigh two kilograms and forty grams of dense wheat. If you weigh it, put it in a vessel, such that this wheat fills this vessel. Then after that, measure by this amount.