Ruling on paying Zakat al-Fitr in currency
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Q: Muslims these days are paying their zakah. What is your guidance, Your Eminence, regarding that? And what about the zakah of the blessed 'Id al-Fitr? Is it permissible to pay it in cash?
A: Allah has made obligatoryupon His servants the zakah of their wealth, and He commanded them to pay it, and He made it one of the five pillars of Islam. Allah the Exalted said:[al-Bayyinah:5], and He the Exalted said:[al-Nur:56], and there are many verses regarding this.
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 8 It is agreed upon as authentic.
Therefore, it is obligatory for all Muslims to pay the zakah of their wealth to those who are entitled to it, desiring what is with Allah and fearing His punishment. Allah has specified those who are entitled to it in His sayingin Surat al-Tawbah:[al-Tawbah:60]. And He the Exalted informed in Surat al-Tawbah also that zakah is a purification for its people, so He the Exalted said:[al-Tawbah:103].
And He threatened those who are stingy with it with painful punishment, where He the Exalted said:[At-Tawbah 9:34] On the Day it will be heated in the Fire of Hell, and their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs will be branded with it. This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard.[al-Tawbah:34-35].
It is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):, and it is also authentic from him (peace and blessings be upon him): .
And Allah has also made obligatory upon Muslims the zakah of their bodies every year, at the time of 'Id al-Fitr, as in the two Sahihs from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:Sahih al-Bukhari 1503. This is the wording of al-Bukhari.
And in the two Sahihs, it is narrated from Abu Sa'idthat he said:Sunan ad-Darimi 3:45.
And included with these types, according to the most correct opinion of the scholars, is everything that people use as staple food in their lands, such as rice, corn, sorghum, and the like. It is a purification for the fasting person from idle talk and obscenity, and food for the poor, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), which was narrated by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah, and authenticated by al-Hakim. Therefore, it is obligatory for Muslims to pay this zakah before the 'Id prayer, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that it be paid before it.
And it is permissible to pay it one or two days before the 'Id, as the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. And by this, it is known that there is no objection to paying it on the 28th, 29th, and 30th, and on the night of the 'Id, and on the morning of the 'Id before the prayer, because the month may be thirty days or twenty-nine days, as the authentic hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicate.
It is not permissible to pay the value in the opinion of the majority of the scholars of knowledge, because it is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) explicitly stated.And Allah (may He be exalted) said::[al-Nur:54], and He the Exalted said:[al-Nur:63]. And success is from Allah.
A: Allah has made obligatoryupon His servants the zakah of their wealth, and He commanded them to pay it, and He made it one of the five pillars of Islam. Allah the Exalted said:
And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاء وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِAnd establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger - that you may receive mercy.
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَAnd the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Islam is based on (the following) five (principles): 1. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). 2. To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly. 3. To pay Zakat (i.e. obligatory charity) . 4. To perform Hajj. (i.e. Pilgrimage to Mecca) 5. To observe fast during the month of Ramadan.
بني الإسلام على خمس: شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدًا رسول الله، وإقام الصلاة، وإيتاء الزكاة، وصيام رمضان، وحج البيتTherefore, it is obligatory for all Muslims to pay the zakah of their wealth to those who are entitled to it, desiring what is with Allah and fearing His punishment. Allah has specified those who are entitled to it in His sayingin Surat al-Tawbah:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاء وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌTake, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ بِهَاAnd He threatened those who are stingy with it with painful punishment, where He the Exalted said:
And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah - give them tidings of a painful punishment.
وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبََ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلاَ يُنفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ It is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
That every wealth whose zakah is not paid is a hoard, and its owner will be punished with it.
أن كل مال لا تؤدى زكاته فهو كنز، يعذب به صاحبهThat every owner of camels, cattle, or sheep who does not pay its zakah will be punished with it on the Day of Resurrection.
أن كل صاحب إبل أو بقر أو غنم لا يؤدي زكاتها فإنه يعذب بها يوم القيامةAnd Allah has also made obligatory upon Muslims the zakah of their bodies every year, at the time of 'Id al-Fitr, as in the two Sahihs from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) enjoined the payment of one Sa' of dates or one Sa' of barley as Zakat-ul-Fitr on every Muslim slave or free, male or female, young or old, and he ordered that it be paid before the people went out to offer the `Id prayer.
فرض رسول الله ﷺ زكاة الفطر: صاعًا من تمر أو صاعًا من شعير على الذكر والأنثى، الحر والمملوك، والصغير والكبير من المسلمين، وأمر بها أن تؤدى قبل خروج الناس للصلاةAnd in the two Sahihs, it is narrated from Abu Sa'idthat he said:
We used to give it in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a sa' of food, or a sa' of dates, or a sa' of barley, or a sa' of raisins, or a sa' of dried curds.
كنا نعطيها في زمن النبي ﷺ صاعًا من طعام أوو صاعًا من تمر أو صاعًا من شعير أو صاعًا من زبيب أو صاعًا من أقطAnd included with these types, according to the most correct opinion of the scholars, is everything that people use as staple food in their lands, such as rice, corn, sorghum, and the like. It is a purification for the fasting person from idle talk and obscenity, and food for the poor, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), which was narrated by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah, and authenticated by al-Hakim. Therefore, it is obligatory for Muslims to pay this zakah before the 'Id prayer, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that it be paid before it.
And it is permissible to pay it one or two days before the 'Id, as the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. And by this, it is known that there is no objection to paying it on the 28th, 29th, and 30th, and on the night of the 'Id, and on the morning of the 'Id before the prayer, because the month may be thirty days or twenty-nine days, as the authentic hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) indicate.
It is not permissible to pay the value in the opinion of the majority of the scholars of knowledge, because it is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) explicitly stated.And Allah (may He be exalted) said::
Say, "Obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away - then upon him is only that [duty] with which he has been charged, and upon you is that with which you have been charged. And if you obey him, you will be [rightly] guided. And there is not upon the Messenger except the [responsibility for] clear notification."
قُلْ أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ فَإِن تَوَلَّوا فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْهِ مَا حُمِّلَ وَعَلَيْكُم مَّا حُمِّلْتُمْ وَإِن تُطِيعُوهُ تَهْتَدُوا وَمَا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ الْمُبِينُSo let those beware who dissent from the Prophet's order, lest fitnah strike them or a painful punishment.
فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَن تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌٌ أَلِيمٌ
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.