The
method of giving Zakat al-Fitr in non-Islamic Lands
By
Shaykh Haitham Al-Haddad
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord
of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet,
Muhammad, his family and all his Companions.
Many
of the Muslims residing in Britain, and other countries
not ruled by Muslims, ask how one should give Zakatu-l-Fitr.
In order to clarify the rulings concerning this
great symbol of Islam this treatise has been written.
Its
definition
Zakatu-l-Fitr
is zakat which is given at the end of the month
of Ramadan by every Muslim, small or old, male or
female, whether free or a slave.
Its
wisdom
This
was explained by the Exegete of the Qur’an,
the noble Companion, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas
when he said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (SAW)
obligated Zakatu-l-Fitr to serve as purification
for the one fasting for any vain speech or indecent
behaviour; and also to serve as food for the indigent.
Whoever gives it before the salah [of ‘Id],
it is an accepted zakat, whoever gives it after
the salah, it is to be regarded as sadaqah.’
Recorded by Abu Dawud.
Its
ruling
In the view of the majority of scholars, both the
early and later, it is obligatory. This is due to
the saying of ibn ‘Umar, ‘The Messenger
of Allah (SAW) obligated zakatu-l-fitr as one sa‘
of dates, or one sa‘ of barley upon the slave,
the free, the male, the female, the young and the
old Muslim. He ordered that it be given before the
people leave for the prayer.’ Agreed upon
and the wording is that of Bukhari.
On
whom is it obligatory and for whom?
It
is obligatory upon the Muslim, male or female; whether
a slave or free, if he finds that he has a surplus
of property after having catered for his core needs
on the day and night of ‘Id such as food,
shelter, clothes etc., he must give this on his
own behalf and on behalf of all Muslims who are
dependant upon him, be that dependant young or old,
free or slave, provided that the dependant is not
able to give the zakat on his or her own behalf.
If they are able, it is better that they give on
their own behalf due to the generality of the address
that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
gave to the Muslims.
With
regard to the young and insane, it should be paid
on their behalf by their legal guardian from their
own wealth if they have wealth, or if not, they
take the ruling of those who are unable to pay on
their own behalf. If a woman is the head of the
household, she must pay on her own behalf and for
her dependants as previously explained.
The
meaning of ‘dependant’ is that person
on whom it is a duty upon a person to provide for.
If someone were to give on behalf of a dependant
who is a disbeliever, there is no harm in this inshaAllah
in accordance to the school of the Hanafis.
What
should be given and how much
Zakatu-l-Fitr
should be given as that food which constitutes the
staple diet of the country in which one resides.
Hence it is possible that it be given as rice in
some countries and flour or wheat in others etc.
It is also possible to give it as modern day food
items, provided that the food can be stored, such
as pasta. The proof for this is the hadith of Abu
Sa‘id al-Khudri who said, ‘we
would give zakatu-l-fitr as a sa‘ of food,
or a sa‘ of barley, or a sa‘ of dates,
or a sa‘ of aqit (dry cheese), or a sa‘
of raisins.’ Agreed upon.
It
is best for a person not to give money, but is it
permissible to give the monetary value of that food
as zakatu-l-fitr?
The
majority of scholars say that this is not permissible
whereas the Hanafis say that it is. It is best that
a person not give its monetary value but give it
as food because this is what the text speaks of.
Moreover, the specific reasoning of the text further
proves that this is what should be given. Therefore,
it is not possible to exercise ijtihad on this issue
by claiming that one is looking to the reasoning
behind the ruling. Furthermore, zakatu-l-fitr is
a very specific form of zakat and as such analogy
cannot be made between it and the zakat of ones
wealth and property: its source is different, the
ones upon whom it is obligatory are different and
its timing is different. Therefore it is not of
the same category as the zakat that one gives of
his wealth and property, it cannot be said that
it has the same purpose and hence it cannot be adjoined
to it.
To
whom should it be given?
It
is best that zakatu-l-fitr be given to the poor
and indigent, these are the first two categories
of the eight to whom zakat is normally given to.
This is due to his (peace and blessings be upon
him) saying, ‘…and
as food for the indigent’. The
majority of scholars are of the opinion that zakatu-l-fitr
is not to be given to non-Muslims.
When
should it be given?
It
is best that it be given one or two days before
the ‘Id prayer, meaning that it should be
given on the twenty-ninth day of Ramadan onwards.
Bukhari records that ‘they would give zakatu-l-fitr
a day or two before [‘Id]’.
In
the case that one giving zakatu-l-fitr gives money
to an Islamic organisation which acts as a representative
on his behalf to convert this money to food, there
is no harm in giving the value in money to such
an organisation a number of days before ‘Id.
This is because in this case someone else is acting
on his behalf and he is not directly giving zakat;
the person he is giving money to is acting as his
representative and hence he is not actually giving
the zakat at that time.
It
is best that a person give it before his ‘Id
prayer and that he not delay it till after the prayer
due to the saying of ibn ‘Umar that ‘the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered
that it be given before the people leave for the
prayer.’ Agreed upon.
If
the person is to pray in a Mosque in which a number
of ‘Id congregations will be held, and he
is determined to pray in the second congregation,
for example, then the deadline for his zakatu-l-fitr
is extended until before he prays his prayer.
How
should one give food in these countries?
If
a Muslim finds one who is deserving of being given
zakatu-l-fitr, he must give them a sa‘ of
food. If he does not find anyone, he can give that
amount of money which is equivalent to the cost
of food in these countries to an Islamic organisation
that can distribute it as food in other lands. His
intention should be that he is giving this money
to a representative who can act on his behalf to
buy food. The scholars have allowed this transferral,
especially when a need dictates that it be done.
Our state here where it is hard to find the poor
and indigent, the difficulty that exists in trying
to give it as food coupled with the dire need that
exists in other lands is a strong reason allowing
one to transfer food to another country.
How
much should be given?
A
sa‘ of food in modern day usage translates
to approximately 2.25kg.
It
is possible that a person give his zakatu-l-fitr
and the zakatu-l-fitr of his dependants to one person
just as it is possible that the zakatu-l-fitr of
one person be distributed amongst a number of indigent
people.
Written
by
Haitham al-Haddad
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