Continuation of the discussion on zakat al-fitr: the place of payment.
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The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows: O my brothers, we spoke in the previous lesson about zakah and about zakat al-fitr, and we explained its type, its amount, and its time. What remains is to speak about its place, that is, in which place is zakat al-fitr paid? Because among the people performing 'Umrah, some ask: I am now in Makkah and I will celebrate the festival in Makkah, so do I pay it here in Makkah, or do I pay it to my family in my home country?
The answer to this is that zakat al-fitr is paid in the country where 'Id al-Fitr comes upon you while you are in it, and it is not permissible to pay it from this country to any other place, because zakat al-fitr is specific to the place where a person is when the festival comes. So it is not permissible to direct it to another place for any reason, in any direction.
It has been established for us that it must be paid out of food, and it is not permissible to pay it out of money for any reason, as long as food is available, because Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said, in what is established from him in the two Sahihs and others:Sahih Muslim 984b.
And Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 1508.
As long as a person is in Makkah, let him pay it in Makkah, because Makkah is better than any other country. So if the person performing 'Umrah pays it in Makkah, two virtues come together in his zakat al-fitr here:
The first virtue is that the person paid it in the country where he is.
And the second virtue is that he paid it in Makkah, and it is known that good deeds in Makkah are better than good deeds elsewhere.
As for what follows: O my brothers, we spoke in the previous lesson about zakah and about zakat al-fitr, and we explained its type, its amount, and its time. What remains is to speak about its place, that is, in which place is zakat al-fitr paid? Because among the people performing 'Umrah, some ask: I am now in Makkah and I will celebrate the festival in Makkah, so do I pay it here in Makkah, or do I pay it to my family in my home country?
The answer to this is that zakat al-fitr is paid in the country where 'Id al-Fitr comes upon you while you are in it, and it is not permissible to pay it from this country to any other place, because zakat al-fitr is specific to the place where a person is when the festival comes. So it is not permissible to direct it to another place for any reason, in any direction.
It has been established for us that it must be paid out of food, and it is not permissible to pay it out of money for any reason, as long as food is available, because Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said, in what is established from him in the two Sahihs and others:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made zakat al-fitr obligatory as a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley, and he ordered that it be paid before the people go out to prayer.
فرض رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم زكاة الفطر صاعا من تمر أو صاعا من شعير وأمر أن تؤدّى قبل خروج الناس إلى الصلاةAnd Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
In the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ) we used to give one Sa' of food
كنا نخرجها في عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم صاعا من طعامAs long as a person is in Makkah, let him pay it in Makkah, because Makkah is better than any other country. So if the person performing 'Umrah pays it in Makkah, two virtues come together in his zakat al-fitr here:
The first virtue is that the person paid it in the country where he is.
And the second virtue is that he paid it in Makkah, and it is known that good deeds in Makkah are better than good deeds elsewhere.