What is the ruling on one who pays zakat al-fitr on the twenty-sixth day of Ramadan?
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The questioner : Regarding the time for zakat al-fitr in Ramadan, a man paid it on the twenty-sixth day because he was traveling.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : What is obligatory for him? It can be paid before the festival, two or three days prior?
The Shaykh : Four days prior.
The questioner : Four days prior, whether the month is complete or short, meaning.
The Shaykh : Yes, if it is short, it is three days, and if it is complete, it is four days. The scholars say: If a person performs a time-bound act of worship before its time, it is not valid. However, the meaning of their statement that it is not valid is not that there is no reward for it. If a person did so out of ignorance, he is rewarded for it, but he is obligated to perform it in its proper time. So we say to these people who paid their fitr on the twenty-sixth: They should repeat it now, paying it now as making up a missed act. The analogy for this is if someone thought that the time for the midday prayer had entered and prayed the midday prayer before its time, then it became clear that he was mistaken; he must pray the midday prayer in its time, and his first prayer becomes a voluntary prayer for which he is rewarded. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : What is obligatory for him? It can be paid before the festival, two or three days prior?
The Shaykh : Four days prior.
The questioner : Four days prior, whether the month is complete or short, meaning.
The Shaykh : Yes, if it is short, it is three days, and if it is complete, it is four days. The scholars say: If a person performs a time-bound act of worship before its time, it is not valid. However, the meaning of their statement that it is not valid is not that there is no reward for it. If a person did so out of ignorance, he is rewarded for it, but he is obligated to perform it in its proper time. So we say to these people who paid their fitr on the twenty-sixth: They should repeat it now, paying it now as making up a missed act. The analogy for this is if someone thought that the time for the midday prayer had entered and prayed the midday prayer before its time, then it became clear that he was mistaken; he must pray the midday prayer in its time, and his first prayer becomes a voluntary prayer for which he is rewarded. Yes.