Ruling on Delaying the Payment of Zakat al-Fitr
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Question:
I intended to give Zakat al-Fitr to a person, but I found him absent from the town, so I left it with my neighbor until he returns. Is that permissible for me?
Answer:
No, a person should, when the time for Zakat arrives, present it to the poor and needy who are present, and not delay it beyond its time. As for Zakat al-Fitr, it should not be delayed beyond its time. It is obligatory that it be presented before the prayer—before the Eid prayer. One should present it on the morning of Eid, or on the night of Eid in Ramadan, or at the end of the month, on the 29th or 28th, or the 30th, and not delay it until after the prayer.
As for the other Zakats, Zakat on wealth, one should hasten to pay it when the lunar year of possession has passed. One should hasten to pay it and not postpone it for those who are absent. One should give it to the poor who are present and support the poor who are present with it, unless the absence is brief and the person then returns. In the case of Zakat on wealth, if the absence is brief, such that two or three days do not cause harm, there is no objection. But Zakat al-Fitr should not be delayed; rather, it is obligatory that it be paid in its time, before the Eid prayer.
Question : And if it is delayed after the Eid prayer?
Answer: He should pay it and repent to Allah. It is sufficient; he makes it up as a missed act of worship, and he must repent to Allah, and it is sufficient.
Question : Does he sin by doing so?
Answer: He sins, yes. It is not permissible for him to delay it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that it be paid before the people go out to the prayer.
I intended to give Zakat al-Fitr to a person, but I found him absent from the town, so I left it with my neighbor until he returns. Is that permissible for me?
Answer:
No, a person should, when the time for Zakat arrives, present it to the poor and needy who are present, and not delay it beyond its time. As for Zakat al-Fitr, it should not be delayed beyond its time. It is obligatory that it be presented before the prayer—before the Eid prayer. One should present it on the morning of Eid, or on the night of Eid in Ramadan, or at the end of the month, on the 29th or 28th, or the 30th, and not delay it until after the prayer.
As for the other Zakats, Zakat on wealth, one should hasten to pay it when the lunar year of possession has passed. One should hasten to pay it and not postpone it for those who are absent. One should give it to the poor who are present and support the poor who are present with it, unless the absence is brief and the person then returns. In the case of Zakat on wealth, if the absence is brief, such that two or three days do not cause harm, there is no objection. But Zakat al-Fitr should not be delayed; rather, it is obligatory that it be paid in its time, before the Eid prayer.
Question : And if it is delayed after the Eid prayer?
Answer: He should pay it and repent to Allah. It is sufficient; he makes it up as a missed act of worship, and he must repent to Allah, and it is sufficient.
Question : Does he sin by doing so?
Answer: He sins, yes. It is not permissible for him to delay it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that it be paid before the people go out to the prayer.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.