Explanation of the author's statement: "And it is permissible to give it out two days before the festival, and on the day of the festival before the prayer is better."

The Shaykh : The author said "And it is permissible to give it out two days before the festival" "It is permissible to give it out" meaning zakat al-fitr two days before the festival. How is it permissible two days before the festival? The reason has not occurred, because we asked: what is the cause of the obligation? It is the setting of the sun on the night of the festival. So how is it permissible to advance it before the cause of the obligation? The well-known jurisprudential principle is that advancing something before its cause is invalid, whereas advancing it before its condition is permissible. We knew this principle before, did we not? We knew before that advancing something before its cause is invalid and advancing it before its condition is permissible. Did you know this before?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : So, okay, then let us take... no, do not follow the weakest of them. Yes, okay, let us give an example that clarifies the matter. If a person swears an oath and breaks it—he swears, "By Allah, I will not do this thing," and then breaks it—he is obligated to pay expiation. When? When he breaks it. He said, "By Allah, I will not wear this garment," and then he wore it, so the expiation became obligatory upon him.
So if he said, "By Allah, I will not wear this garment," and then he decided to wear it, and he paid the expiation before wearing it, here he has advanced the expiation before the existence of its condition, is that not so? Is it permissible or not permissible? It is permissible. Okay.
A third man said, "I will swear that I will not wear the garment and I will wear it," so he pays the expiation before he swears. This is not sufficient. Why? Because it is before the existence of the cause. And here we have established that the cause of the obligation of zakat al-fitr is the setting of the sun. So how does the author say it is permissible to give it out two days before the festival? We say this is from the category of a dispensation (rukhsah) due to the action of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). The Companions used to give it to those who would accept it from people one or two days before the festival. So since this dispensation came from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), who are the best of the generations, and their action is to be followed, this issue is an exception to the principle we mentioned. Yes.
He says "It is permissible two days before the festival only" "Only" This word comes up to us often, so let us know what it is. Is it Arabic, or Persian, or Roman, or Greek, or what? It is Arabic. Its origin is "qat" meaning "enough" or "sufficient," as it came in the hadith meaning "enough for me, enough for me." So "qat" means "enough," but the letter "fa" entered it to improve the wording. The "fa" sometimes comes to improve the wording, as in His saying, the Exalted: and the original is "But Allah you should worship." Okay.
So we say the "fa" is extra to improve the wording, and "qat" is a noun meaning "enough," and it is built on sukun (stillness). Okay. "Faqat" means no addition. And on the day of the festival before the prayer is better, due to the hadith of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), who said, "And he ordered, meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), And because the purpose of it is to make the poor person independent of asking on this day, so that they may share in the joy and happiness with the wealthy. This is one of its objectives. Otherwise, it is a purification for the fasting person from idle talk and obscenity. So the day of the festival before the prayer is better. And therefore, the scholars said it is recommended (should) that the imam delay the festival prayer on the day of 'Id al-Fitr to allow time for giving out zakat al-fitr. Okay. It must reach its owner before the prayer, or to his agent, the agent of the poor person, or to the agent of the poor person. And it is permissible for the poor person to appoint someone who is obligated to pay the fitrah to receive it on his behalf. For example, the poor person says to the owner of the house, "I am going to travel, and you are my agent to receive what you give me of zakat al-fitr." In this case, the man gives out the zakat al-fitr and keeps it with him in a place, on the condition that it is for the poor person. And this man has received it from himself for his client. Complete? Okay.
We now have the time of permissibility and the time of preference. When is the time of permissibility? Two days before the festival. The time of preference is the day of the festival before the prayer. Okay. When does the day begin? From the rising of the sun or from the appearance of the dawn? The day begins legally from the appearance of the dawn. And based on this, if you go out to the Fajr prayer on the day of the festival, take your zakat al-fitr with you and give it to whom you wish to give it.