Islamic Fiqh > Zakat > Zakat al-fitr > Zakat al-fitr: status, wisdom and conditions
Contents
Updated on 24 September 2026 at 4:12 PM
This set of sheets from the fiqh encyclopedia (chapter on zakat al-fitr) lays out the general rules of zakat al-fitr: its legal ruling among the schools, the distinction between fard and wajib, the era of its legislation and its wisdom, then the conditions of its obligation (Islam, freedom, affluence) and the persons concerned. School positions are attributed faithfully, with classical book references kept in parentheses and the takhrij of the hadiths (report numbers). Measures (sa', mudd, nisab) and amounts are preserved as they are.
The people of knowledge have differed over the ruling of zakat al-fitr, holding two views. The first: it is obligatory (wajib), which is the view of the majority of the people of knowledge among the early and the later generations; a group of scholars has even reported consensus (ijma) on its obligation. The supporters of this view proved it from the Qur'an, the sunnah and consensus.
The first argument comes from the Qur'an. First, His saying:
"And establish prayer and give zakah"
Surah al-Baqarah, 43
The argument is that the verse contains the command to give zakah, and the command indicates obligation; the word "zakah" in the verse is general: it includes zakat al-fitr as it includes the zakah of wealth (al-Istidhkar, 3/265; at-Tamhid, 14/322; al-Hawi al-Kabir, 3/349; Sharh Sahih Muslim by al-Nawawi, 7/58; al-Majmu', 6/85; al-Mumti' Sharh al-Muqni', 2/180).
Ibn Abd al-Barr reports, in the audition of Ziyad ibn Abd al-Rahman: Malik was asked about the interpretation of Allah's saying "and give zakah": is it the zakah coupled with prayer? He replied that it is the zakah of all wealth, of gold and silver, of fruits, grains and livestock, as well as zakat al-fitr; then he recited:
"Take, from their wealth a charity"
Surah at-Tawbah, 103
(al-Istidhkar, 3/265; al-Kafi, p. 113)
The second argument from the Qur'an is His saying:
"He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself (14) and mentions the name of his Lord and prays (15)"
Surah al-A'la, 14-15
The argument is that the verse affirms success (falah) for the one who purifies himself (tazakka), which indicates the obligation of zakah. The zakah whose obligation is established in this verse is zakat al-fitr, as held by a group of scholars such as Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz and others (Ahkam al-Qur'an by al-Jassas, 5/372; al-Mughni, 4/30; al-Mubdi' Sharh al-Muqni', 2/385).
Ibn Hajar: "It is established in the two Sahihs the reality of success for the one who restricts himself to the obligations" (Fath al-Bari, 3/368). Al-Sarakhsi comments on the verse: "that is, he purifies himself by paying zakat al-fitr and offers the Eid prayer" (al-Mabsut, 3/101). Ibn Hajar says of the verse again: "It is established that it was revealed concerning zakat al-fitr" (Fath al-Bari, 3/368). Al-Shawkani: "It is established that His saying: 'He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself and mentions the name of his Lord and prays' was revealed concerning zakat al-fitr, as Ibn Khuzayma narrated" (Nayl al-Awtar, 4/250).
Ibn Khuzayma reported it in his Sahih (4/90, hadith 2420, chapter on the mention of Allah's praise for the one who pays the sadaqah of fitr): the Messenger of Allah was asked about this verse and said: "It was revealed concerning zakat al-fitr"; the report is nevertheless described as very odd in its isnad.
The second argument is the sunnah. The first hadith is that of Abdullah ibn Umar:
"The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr: a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley, upon the slave and the free, the male and the female, the young and the old, among the Muslims."Reported by al-Bukhari (1433) and Muslim (984)
The second hadith is that of Abdullah ibn Abbas:
"The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr as a purification for the fasting person from idle (laghw) and obscene (rafath) talk, and as food for the poor. Whoever pays it before the prayer, it is an accepted zakah; whoever pays it after the prayer, it is a charity among charities."Hasan hadith: reported by Abu Dawud in his Sunan (1609), Ibn Majah (1827), al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak (1488) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (7481)
"Laghw" means vain, profitless speech, and "rafath" means obscenity in speech (an-Nihaya fi Gharib al-Hadith wa-l-Athar, 4/257; Lisan al-Arab, 2/153).
The argument of these two hadiths is that of the majority of scholars, early and late: "farada" (he enjoined) here means "he made binding and obligatory". Zakat al-fitr therefore falls under the generality of His saying: "and give zakah", and the Messenger of Allah himself named it zakah, so it enters into Allah's command concerning it. His use of "farada" is moreover the Law's most frequent usage in this meaning (Sharh an-Nawawi ala Sahih Muslim, 7/58; Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 3/282).
What confirms this meaning is its connection with the particle "upon" ("upon the slave and the free"), which likewise indicates obligation. Ibn Abd al-Barr: "His saying 'farada' means, in the understanding of the people of knowledge, 'he made obligatory'. The Muslims understood from His saying 'a decree from Allah' (Surah an-Nisa, 11) and the like that it is a thing Allah obligated, fixed and decreed; and whatever the Messenger of Allah obligated, he obligated it on behalf of Allah." He adds that the view of its obligation also follows from following the way of the believers, since declaring it non-obligatory would be an anomaly or a form of anomaly (at-Tamhid, 14/324; al-Istidhkar, 3/260; Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/45).
Third hadith: "The Messenger of Allah commanded zakat al-fitr: a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley..." (Reported by al-Bukhari (1438) and Muslim (984), the wording being Muslim's). The command indicates obligation so long as no counter-indication exists, and there is none here: zakat al-fitr is therefore obligatory.
Ibn al-Humam, the Hanafi: "Carrying the wording to its legal reality in the speech of the Lawgiver is required so long as no counter-factor stands against it, and the legal reality of 'fard' is not mere determination. In the wording of al-Bukhari and Muslim, he commanded zakat al-fitr; Ibn Umar said: the people made its equivalent two mudds of wheat. The meaning of 'farada' is the meaning of 'amara' (to command) in the obligating sense" (Sharh Fath al-Qadir, 2/282).
Third argument: consensus. The majority of scholars cited consensus on the obligation of zakat al-fitr:
Ishaq's wording is more precise than Ibn al-Mundhir's and the others', because of the disagreement discussed further on.
The second view: a confirmed sunnah, not obligatory. It is the view of some later scholars among the companions of Malik and of Dawud; Ibn al-Arabi al-Maliki narrated it from Malik, saying it is "possible" (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/46). It is also the view of Isma'il ibn Ulayya, Abu Bakr ibn Kayisan al-Asamm and Ibn al-Laban among the Shafi'is (al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, 6/85; al-Istidhkar, 3/265-266; at-Tamhid, 14/321, 323; Mawahib al-Jalil Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil, 2/365; al-Mughni, 4/30).
The supporters of this view interpret "farada" in the hadith in the sense of "qaddara" (to determine), as in the phrase "the judge determined ('farada') the orphan's maintenance", meaning he fixed its amount. Ibn Daqiq al-Id: "The original meaning of 'fard' in the language is determination, but it was transferred, in the usage of the Lawgiver, to obligation; so carrying it to that meaning is more proper", that is, rather than carrying it to its original sense (Fath al-Bari, 3/368; Umdat al-Qari, 9/109). Al-Kirmani: "What is understood from 'farada' according to the Law's usage is obligation; it is not permissible for the narrator to express the recommended act by 'fard' while knowing the difference between the two" (Umdat al-Qari, 9/109). Ibn al-Humam said the like (Sharh Fath al-Qadir, 2/282).
That is why al-Nawawi rejected Ibn al-Laban's view after reporting it: "I say: Ibn al-Laban's view is an anomalous, rejected opinion, indeed a plain mistake" (Rawdat at-Talibin, 2/291). Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi: among those who held that it is not obligatory is Ibn al-Laban of our companions, and al-Nawawi described his view as anomalous and rejected, indeed a plain mistake.
The qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi reports from Malik, concerning its obligation, two narrations: one that it is "possible"; the other that "zakat al-fitr is a fard", as the jurists of the cities said. Some interpreted "farada" as "determining", but the meaning of obligation is more apparent: since he said "zakat al-fitr", it entered under His saying: "and give zakah" (Surah al-Baqarah, 43). If "farada" makes it obligatory, well and good; if it means "determining", the meaning is that he determined the zakah made obligatory by the Qur'an at the time of fitr, as he determined the zakah of wealth (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/46).
The cause of the scholars' disagreement. Ibn Rushd: "The majority hold that zakat al-fitr is a fard; some later scholars among the companions of Malik hold that it is a sunnah; the people of Iraq held it obligatory (wajib); and some said it was abrogated by the zakah [of wealth]" (Bidayat al-Mujtahid, 1/383). The cause of the disagreement is the contradiction of the athar on the question.
On one side, the hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar: "The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr, for the month of Ramadan: a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley, upon every free person or slave, male or female, among the Muslims" (sahih hadith cited above). Its apparent meaning implies obligation, according to the method of one who takes the Companion as reference in understanding command or recommendation when the Prophet's wording has not reached us otherwise.
On the other side, in the famous hadith of the Bedouin, the Messenger of Allah mentioned zakah; the man asked: "Is there anything else upon me?" He replied: "No, except what you give voluntarily" (Reported by al-Bukhari (46) and Muslim (11)). The majority infer from it that this zakah [al-fitr] falls under the obligatory zakah.
Others hold that it does not fall under it, citing what is reported from Qays ibn Sa'd ibn Ubadah:
"The Messenger of Allah used to command us to pay it before the revelation of [the verse of] zakah. When the verse of zakah was revealed, he neither commanded us to pay it nor forbade it, and we pay it."Reported by Ibn Majah (1828), an-Nasa'i (2507), Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih (2394) and al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak (1491), who judged it sahih by the standard of the two shaykhs though they did not report it; and by al-Bayhaqi in al-Kubra (4/159)
Among those who hold its obligation, the scholars have differed: is it a fard or a wajib? Two views. The first: it is a fard, the view of the majority of scholars: the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis within the madhhab (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/46; at-Tamhid, 14/323; al-Mughni, 4/30-31; al-Furu', 2/391). The second: it is a wajib, the view of the Hanafis and of Ahmad in one narration (al-Mabsut by al-Sarakhsi, 3/101; Sharh Fath al-Qadir, 2/282; Mirqat al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat al-Masabih, 4/280; al-Furu', 2/391).
Al-Hafiz al-Iraqi: "Zakat al-fitr is a fard, in keeping with the majority's principle of the synonymy of fard and wajib; the Hanafis confined themselves, in their books, to the statement of obligation (wujub), in keeping with their principle that the wajib is what is established by a speculative proof." The Hanbalis differed over this; Ibn Qudama: "Some of our companions said: is it called fard while its obligation is affirmed? Two narrations. The sound view is that it is a fard, on account of Ibn Umar's saying: 'The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr', and on account of the scholars' agreement that it is a fard" (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/46; al-Mughni, 4/30-31).
Al-Nawawi: "The sound view is that it is an obligatory fard" (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 7/58). Ibn Muflih: "It is called fard on the most sound view" (al-Mubdi' Sharh al-Muqni', 2/385).
Does this disagreement bear any fruit? Ibn al-Humam: "What is established by speculation produces only obligation, so there is no disagreement in meaning. The iftirad (the fard) they affirm is not of the degree in which its denier would disbelieve: it is the meaning of obligation that we hold. At most, the fard in their terminology is broader than the wajib in ours, and they applied it to one of its two parts" (Sharh Fath al-Qadir, 2/282; Mirqat al-Mafatih, 4/280).
Al-Mawardi: "Once its obligation is established as we have mentioned, it is a fard, like the zakahs of wealth." Abu Hanifah: "It is obligatory (wajiba) without being a fard, like witr, in accordance with his principle of the distinction between the wajib and the fard. This disagreement, once weighed, is a debate of wording, a concordance of meaning, of no effect" (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 3/350).
It follows from what Ibn al-Humam and al-Mawardi said that the disagreement is purely verbal, with no consequence upon which to build a legal ruling.
The giving of zakah was prescribed in the religions of the previous prophets. Allah says about Ibrahim and his family:
"And We made them leaders guiding by Our command. And We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, the establishment of prayer, the giving of zakah, and they were worshippers of Us."
Surah al-Anbiya, 73
The giving of charity to the poor was prescribed for the Muslims from the Meccan period onward:
"But he has not broken through the difficult pass. And what can make you know what is the difficult pass? It is the freeing of a slave, or feeding on a day of severe hunger, an orphan of near relationship, or a needy person in misery."
Surah al-Balad, 11-16
Some Meccan verses even established for the poor a known right over the wealth of the believers:
"And those in whose wealth there is a recognized right, for the petitioner and the deprived."
Surah al-Ma'arij, 24-25
Ibn Hajar: "The beginning of the time of the obligation of zakah is disputed. The majority hold that it took place after the Hijra: some say in year 2, before the prescription of the fast of Ramadan, as al-Nawawi indicated in the chapter of campaigns of the Rawda; Ibn al-Athir asserted in at-Tarikh that it was in year 9, which needs examination. Ibn Khuzayma claimed in his Sahih that it was prescribed before the Hijra, citing the hadith of Umm Salama on the migration to Abyssinia, in which Ja'far ibn Abi Talib says to the Negus: 'He commands us to prayer, zakah and fasting'" (Fath al-Bari, 3/266-267).
This argument is questionable: the five prayers were not yet prescribed, nor the fast of Ramadan; Ja'far's account to the Negus may not have taken place upon his arrival, but after a period of time, once what he reports had already occurred and reached him. "He commands us" would then mean "he commands his ummah". If the hadith of Umm Salama is sound in its isnad, the best interpretation is that "He commands us to prayer, zakah and fasting" is a general statement which does not necessarily mean the five prayers, the fast of Ramadan, or this specific zakah with its nisab (threshold) and hawl (lunar year).
What indicates that the obligation of zakah took place after the Hijra is their agreement that the fast of Ramadan was only prescribed after the Hijra, its verse being Medinan without dispute. And the hadith of Qays ibn Sa'd ibn Ubadah: "The Messenger of Allah commanded us the sadaqah of fitr before zakah was revealed; when zakah was revealed, he neither commanded nor forbade us, and we pay it": its isnad is sahih, its men are those of the Sahih, except Abu Ammar, a Kufan named Arib ibn Humayd, authenticated by Ahmad and Ibn Ma'in; this hadith indicates that the sadaqah of fitr was prescribed before zakah, which implies that zakah came after the prescription of Ramadan, that is, after the Hijra (Fath al-Bari, 3/266-267).
The wisdom of the obligation of this zakah is what was reported from Ibn Abbas:
"The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr as a purification for the fasting person from idle and obscene talk, and as food for the poor."Reported by Abu Dawud (1609) and others; hasan hadith, cited above
This wisdom is made of two aspects. The first concerns the fasting people of the month of Ramadan and whatever may have marred their fast through vain or obscene words. Complete fasting is that in which the tongue and the limbs fast as the stomach does, so that the fasting person allows neither his tongue, nor his ear, nor his eye, nor his hand or foot to be stained by any word or deed forbidden by Allah and His Messenger. It is rare for a fasting person to escape approaching some of it, because of the prevailing human weakness: this zakah therefore comes at the end of the month like a bath washing away the traces of whatever marred the soul or clouded the fast, and repairing whatever shortcomings it contains; good deeds erase bad deeds.
Likewise, the Lawgiver instituted the rawatib sunnahs alongside the five prayers to repair whatever inattention, defect or breach of etiquette may occur in them; some imams likened them to the prostration of forgetfulness. Waki' ibn al-Jarrah: "The zakat al-fitr of the month of Ramadan is to the prayer like the prostration of forgetfulness: it repairs the deficiency of the fast as the prostration repairs the deficiency of the prayer" (Nihayat al-Muhtaj, 3/110).
The second aspect concerns society and the spreading of love and joy through all its parts, especially among the poor and those in need. Eid is a day of joy and happiness, and joy should be generalized to all the members of the Muslim society. The poor will not rejoice if he sees the well-off eating what is delicious while he cannot find his day's food on the Eid day of the Muslims.
The wisdom of the Lawgiver therefore required that something be assigned to him on that day which spares him need and the humiliation of begging, and makes him feel that society has not neglected him in its days of joy. It was also part of the Lawgiver's wisdom to keep the obligated amount small, as will come, and to take it from what is easy of people's food, so that the greatest possible number in the ummah may share in this noble contribution and this swift relief on this blessed occasion (Fiqh az-Zakah, 933-934).
Several conditions are required for the obligation of zakat al-fitr. The first is Islam: the jurists agreed that Islam is a condition, citing the sunnah and consensus as evidence.
As for the sunnah:
"The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr: a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley, upon the slave and the free, the male and the female, the young and the old, among the Muslims, and he commanded that it be paid before the people go out to the prayer."Reported by al-Bukhari (1432)
"The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr: a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley, upon every free person or slave, male or female, of the Muslims."Reported by al-Bukhari (1433) and Muslim (984)
The argument of these two hadiths is His saying: "among the Muslims": this indicates that Islam is a condition of the obligation, and that zakat al-fitr is not due from the disbeliever for himself; this is a point of agreement (Subul al-Salam, 2/138).
As for consensus: several scholars reported the consensus that Islam is a condition and that zakat al-fitr is not due from the disbeliever. Al-Kasani: "It is not due from the disbeliever, for there is no way to obligation in a state of disbelief: it carries the meaning of worship and cannot be paid without intention; the disbeliever is not among the worshippers, and it is not due without Islam, by consensus" (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 2/69; the imam Ala al-Din al-Kasani, who died in 587 AH; edition Dar al-Kutub al-Arabi, Beirut, 1982, 2nd edition). Al-Hafiz Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi: "This addition indicates that Islam is a condition of the obligation of zakat al-fitr, which implies that the disbeliever owes zakat al-fitr neither for himself nor for another; as for his not paying it for himself, it is a point of agreement" (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/58). Ibn Qudama: "It is not due from a disbeliever, free or enslaved, and we know of no disagreement over the free adult" (al-Mughni, 4/32).
Ibn Hajar: "This addition was cited as evidence that Islam is a condition of the obligation of zakat al-fitr, which implies that it is not due from the disbeliever for himself; this is a point of agreement" (Fath al-Bari, 3/370; Nayl al-Awtar by al-Shawkani, 4/251). Al-Khatib al-Shirbini: "No zakah is due from an original disbeliever, according to His saying: 'among the Muslims'; this is a consensus, stated by al-Mawardi" (al-Iqna', 1/226).
If Islam is a condition, it is because zakat al-fitr is an act of drawing near (qurba) and a purification for the fasting person; the disbeliever is not one of its people, and he will only be punished for abandoning it in the Hereafter (al-Iqna', 1/226).
Most of the jurists among the four imams and others hold that freedom is a condition of the obligation of zakat al-fitr: it is not due from the slave, but from the master for his slave. Only Dawud ibn Ali al-Zahiri and Abu Thawr differed (Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, 7/55, 59; al-Majmu', 6/97; al-Jawhar al-Naqi, 4/162; Fath al-Bari, 3/368; al-Mughni, 4/32; Fayd al-Qadir, 4/64).
Al-Kasani: "Among the conditions of obligation is freedom according to our school: it is therefore not due from the slave" (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 2/69). Al-Nawawi: "The second condition: freedom; no fitra is due from the slave, neither for himself nor for another" (al-Majmu', 6/85). He adds: "The master owes the fitra of his slave, whether the slave has earnings or not: this is our school, and all the Muslims said so, except Dawud al-Zahiri, who held that it is not due from the master but from the slave, the master being bound to enable him to earn it. This view is void, refuted by consensus: Ibn al-Mundhir and others reported the consensus of the Muslims on its obligation upon the master" (al-Majmu', 6/97).
Ibn Hajar: "His saying 'upon the slave and the free' apparently means that the slave pays it for himself; only Dawud said that: the master must enable the slave to acquire it, as he must enable him to pray; his companions and the people opposed him" (Fath al-Bari, 3/368). Al-Dasuqi, the Maliki: "The condition of the one upon whom zakah is due is to be free, Muslim and well-off: the slave is not addressed for himself, by agreement" (Hashiyat al-Dasuqi ala al-Sharh al-Kabir, 1/507).
Al-Hafiz Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi: "In the hadith 'upon every free person or slave' lies the obligation of zakat al-fitr upon the slave himself; this is what Dawud al-Zahiri said: we know of no one else who said it, and neither Ibn Hazm nor any of his companions followed him" (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/52).
The proofs of the condition of freedom:
"No charity is due from a Muslim's wealth for his slave or his horse." In another wording: "No charity is due in the slave, except zakat al-fitr."Reported by al-Bukhari (1395) and Muslim (982); the second wording is reported by Muslim (982)
Al-Iraqi infers from it that zakat al-fitr is not upon the slave himself but upon his master. Ibn al-Mundhir: "The generality of the people of knowledge agreed that a person owes zakat al-fitr for his present slave who is not bound by a manumission contract (mukatab), and not for the seized slave, the runaway slave, or the slave bought for trade"; Ibn Qudama: "We know of no disagreement over this" (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/52).
"The Messenger of Allah commanded the sadaqah of fitr for the young and the old, the free and the slave, of those whom you maintain."Reported by al-Daraqutni in his Sunan (2/141) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (7471); hasan hadith
The argument of this last hadith: obligation rests upon the one addressed for payment, which places him in the position of maintenance (nafaqa); and the slave's maintenance is upon the master, so likewise the sadaqah of fitr for him. Al-Sarakhsi: "This charity is obligatory in consideration of ownership, so it is due from the outset [to the master], like the zakah of the wealth of the trading slave. The slave's state is below that of the destitute who owns nothing, for that destitute is among the owners, unlike the slave; if it is not due from the destitute who owns nothing, it is even more fitting that it not be due from the slave: the proof is that he is never addressed for payment" (al-Mabsut, 3/103).
The jurists have differed over the definition of affluence, or of the meaning of the ability to pay zakat al-fitr, holding two views. The first: the majority of jurists (the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis) hold that owning the nisab (threshold) is not a condition: zakah is due from whoever holds a surplus over the food of the day of Eid and its night, for himself and for those whose upkeep is binding on him, up to the amount of zakat al-fitr; if he holds that, it is due from him (al-Dhakhira, 3/159-160; Bilghat al-Salik, 1/436; al-Hawi al-Kabir, 3/56, 59; Rawdat at-Talibin, 2/299-300; al-Ifsah, 1/341; al-Fatawa al-Kubra, 4/455; Sharh al-Zarkashi, 1/407).
Al-Shafi'i: "If there remains over his food and the food of his dependents, for the day of Eid and its night, the amount of the sadaqah of fitr, the sadaqah of fitr is due from him" (Sharh al-Sunnah, 6/71). Al-Zarkashi: "It is required, for its obligation, that he hold a surplus over his food on the day of Eid and its night" (Sharh al-Zarkashi ala Mukhtasar al-Kharqi, 1/407).
The majority cites as evidence the sunnah, the athar and reason.
First, the sunnah:
"Pay a sa' of wheat, or a sa' of barley; Hammad had doubt about [the phrase] 'for every two': young or old, male or female, free or owned, rich or poor. As for your rich, Allah will purify him; as for your poor, Allah will return to him more than he gives." (Hammad, that is Hammad ibn Zayd, the narrator of the hadith.)Weak hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (1619), Ahmad (23714), al-Tahawi in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (3411), al-Daraqutni (2/148) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (7498); it rests upon al-Nu'man ibn Rashid, a weak narrator
The argument: the hadith includes the command to pay the sadaqah of fitr for the poor, and the command indicates obligation; zakat al-fitr is therefore due from whoever is able to pay it.
"Whoever begs while possessing what suffices him only accumulates the fuel of the Fire"; al-Nufayli (the narrator of the hadith) specified elsewhere: "from the coals of Hell". They said: "O Messenger of Allah, what suffices him?" and elsewhere: "and what is the wealth with which begging is not fitting?" He said: "The amount of his morning and evening meals"; and again: "to have the filling meal of a day and a night, or of a night and a day."Sahih hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (1629), whose wording it is, and Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih (2390)
The argument: whoever possesses the food of his day is rich, and whatever exceeds the food of his day he must pay from zakat al-fitr. Third proof from the sunnah: "The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr, for the month of Ramadan, upon the people: a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley, upon every free person or slave, male or female, of the Muslims" (sahih hadith cited above): the word "the people" is general and includes the rich as well as the poor who holds its amount as a surplus over his need (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/61).
Second, the athar: Abu Hurayrah said: "Zakat al-fitr is due upon every free person and slave, male and female: young and old, rich and poor" (reported by Abd al-Razzaq in al-Musannaf, 3/311, no. 5761). The poor meant here is the one who holds zakat al-fitr as a surplus over his food and the food of his dependents: proof that the affluence required is the ownership of the amount.
Third, reason: zakat al-fitr is attached to the person (badan) and does not increase with wealth, so the nisab is not required in it, like the expiation (kaffarah); it is not impossible to take it from him and give it, as the tithe ('ushr) is due from his harvest while he still needs support. He is among the people of purity and holds the amount of the fitra as a surplus over his subsistence, so zakah is due from him. Zakah came in absolute terms for the young and the old, the male and the female, the free and the slave, without restriction to rich or poor, unlike the zakah of wealth: "It is taken from their rich and returned to their poor" (Reported by al-Bukhari (1331) and Muslim (19)) (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 3/372; al-Mughni, 4/56; al-Kafi, 1/321).
The Malikis: if he is able to pay the due amount, even if it is less than a sa', and holds the food of his day, he must pay it. They add that he must even borrow to pay zakat al-fitr if he hopes to repay, being legally capable; if he does not hope to repay, it is not required of him (al-Dhakhira, 3/159-160; Bilghat al-Salik, 1/436).
The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis: for the poor man, it is required that he hold the amount as a surplus over his food and the food of those he must support, on the night and the day of Eid, and as a surplus over his dwelling, his goods and his essential needs: a house he needs to live in, or whose rent covers his upkeep; clothes provided to him or to those he supports; slaves whose service he or his provider needs; beasts he needs for riding and for his essential needs; grazing animals whose growth he needs. All this pertains to his essential needs, so he is not required to sell it for his own upkeep. Likewise, books he needs for study and memorization need not be sold; and a woman's jewelry, for wearing or for renting out, need not be sold for the fitra. Whatever exceeds these essential needs, and can be sold and used for the fitra, makes the fitra obligatory, since payment becomes possible without essential harm (al-Majmu', 7/189; Rawdat at-Talibin, 2/299-300; al-Mughni, 4/59; Kashshaf al-Qina', 2/247; Sharh al-Zarkashi, 1/407; al-Ifsah, 1/341).
The second view: the Hanafis and Ibn al-Arabi among the Malikis hold that the ability to pay the sadaqah of fitr means owning the nisab upon which zakah is due, whatever the wealth: gold, silver, livestock (camels, cattle, sheep) or trade goods. Whoever holds that amount as a surplus over his essential needs (food, clothing, dwelling, weapon, horse, slave) owes zakat al-fitr (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 2/69; al-Mabsut by al-Sarakhsi, 3/102; Tuhfat al-Fuqaha, 1/334; al-Hidayah, 1/115; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/306; al-'Inayah Sharh al-Hidayah, 3/226; al-Jawharah al-Nayyirah, 2/4).
Al-Sarakhsi: "The affluence required for the obligation of zakat al-fitr is to own two hundred dirhams, or the equivalent, in dirhams in which the mint stamp prevails over counterfeiting, as a surplus over his need" (al-Mabsut, 3/102). Al-Haddadi specifies: according to al-Shafi'i, it is due from the poor man who holds a surplus over the food of his day for himself and his dependents; the shaykh (al-Shafi'i) conditioned freedom, the realization of ownership and Islam, so that the charity be an act of drawing near, and conditioned affluence according to His saying: "No charity except from a surplus of wealth"; the measure of affluence is the nisab, for the Law measures wealth by it, whether he owns a nisab or goods worth a nisab as a surplus over his subsistence, without any debt upon him.
He also explains why the dwelling, the clothes, the horse, the weapon and the slaves of service are deducted: these things are reserved by essential needs, and what is reserved by them is like the nonexistent; likewise the books of knowledge for the scholar: he is excused regarding the books of fiqh for one copy of each work, no more, and two copies according to the later view; and if he owns a single dwelling in which he lives, with a surplus worth a nisab, the fitra is due from him; likewise for clothes and furniture (al-Jawharah al-Nayyirah, 2/3-4).
The Hanafis cite as evidence the sunnah and reason. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said:
"There is no charity except from a surplus of wealth; the upper hand is better than the lower hand; and begin with those you support."Reported by Ahmad (7155) with this wording; by al-Bukhari (1360, 1361) with: "The best charity is that which comes from a surplus of wealth"; and by Muslim (1034)
The argument: zakah is due only from the rich, and the wealth required by the Law is that which makes zakah due, namely the ownership of the nisab; whoever is not rich in this sense owes no charity.
Reason proceeds from two directions. First, the analogy of zakat al-fitr with the zakah of wealth, the common factor being that each is a zakah: the zakah of wealth requires the nisab, so likewise zakat al-fitr. Second: whoever does not own a zakatable nisab is poor; the poor is a recipient of zakah; zakah cannot be demanded of its own recipient, for giving him charity and its obligation upon him cannot combine, and the Law brings nothing useless; to say that he would take from others to pay on himself would be to engage in the useless, whereas Allah commands us to give to the poor, not to take from them. Zakah is therefore due only upon the rich man who owns a zakatable nisab (al-Mabsut, 3/102; Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/61; Nayl al-Awtar, 4/257).
First: the free, well-off man. There is no disagreement among the jurists on the obligation of zakat al-fitr upon the adult, free Muslim man. The proofs are the sunnah and consensus.
"The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr: a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley, upon every free person or slave, male or female, of the Muslims."Reported by al-Bukhari (1433) and Muslim (984)
This hadith is an explicit text on the question. Ibn al-Mundhir: "They agreed that the sadaqah of fitr is due from a person as soon as he is able to pay it for himself" (al-Ijma', 107).
Second: the mukatab slave (bound by a progressive manumission contract). Three views.
First view: zakat al-fitr is due from the mukatab out of his earnings, and nothing is due from his master: this is the Hanbali madhhab, a Maliki narration and a Shafi'i view (al-Mughni by Ibn Qudama, 4/60; Sharh al-Zarkashi, 1/408; Rawdat at-Talibin, 2/299; Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, 7/55; al-Majmu', 6/85; Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/402-403; al-Hawi al-Kabir, 3/352). Ibn Qudama: "No zakah is due upon his manumission contract; the mukatab must pay zakat al-fitr for himself" (al-Mughni, 4/60). Al-Thamar al-Dani: "He likewise pays zakat al-fitr for his mukatab on the well-known view; Malik held that it lapses for both; it is also said that it is due from the mukatab" (al-Thamar al-Dani, 1/357). Al-Shirbini: "For the mukatab bound by a valid contract, a view holds that his fitra is due from him" (Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/403).
Their arguments: his master does not maintain him, so he does not fall under His saying: "of those whom you maintain"; and since his upkeep is not required of the master, he resembles a stranger. Moreover, he must provide for himself, so his fitra is due from him, like the free well-off man (al-Mughni, 4/60; Sharh al-Zarkashi, 1/408).
Second view: zakat al-fitr is due from the master for his mukatab: this is the well-known view among the Malikis, a view of some of the companions of al-Shafi'i, and that of Ata', Abu Thawr and Ibn al-Mundhir (al-Istidhkar, 3/260; at-Tamhid, 14/334, 17/138; Bilghat al-Salik, 1/436; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/506). The proof from the sunnah: Abu Dawud and others report from Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet said:
"The mukatab is a slave so long as a single dirham of his contract remains."Reported by Abu Dawud (3926); hasan hadith
The argument: the mukatab is a slave so long as a dirham remains; the master's ownership of him is established, so his fitra is due from the master. The reasoning: the mukatab is a slave, his maintenance is originally due from his master, and zakat al-fitr follows maintenance; it is therefore due from the master according to the principle, even if he no longer maintains him because of the contract (Sharh al-Zarqani ala al-Muwatta, 2/195).
Third view: zakat al-fitr is due neither from the master nor from the mukatab: this is the Hanafi madhhab, the sound view among the Shafi'is, and the view of Sufyan al-Thawri and of Malik in one narration (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al-Ulama, 1/470; al-Mabsut by al-Sarakhsi, 3/3; Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 2/6; al-Hidayah, 1/116; al-'Inayah, 3/232). Al-Babarti, of the Hanafis: "The master does not pay for his mukatab, for lack of guardianship and because he does not maintain him; and the mukatab does not pay for himself, on account of his poverty, for he is owned property" (al-'Inayah Sharh al-Hidayah, 3/232).
Al-Nawawi: "There are three views or orientations concerning the mukatab, the soundest being: no fitra upon him nor upon his master; the second: it is due from his master; the third: it is due from his earnings, like his maintenance" (Rawdat at-Talibin, 2/299). The arguments of the third view: the mukatab remains a slave so long as a dirham remains, and zakat al-fitr is not due from the slave; so likewise the mukatab, whose ownership is incomplete. The master does not maintain his mukatab and his guardianship is incomplete, whereas zakat al-fitr is due only with complete guardianship and maintenance. Finally, zakat al-fitr is a zakah, so it is not due from him, like the zakah of wealth.
Five issues arise concerning zakat al-fitr for the wife:
First issue: zakat al-fitr for the free, adult Muslim wife. Two views: is it due from the husband, or from the wife out of her own wealth?
First view: the wife's fitra is due from her husband: the view of the majority of scholars: the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis (al-Mudawwana al-Kubra, 2/355; Mawahib al-Jalil, 2/371; al-Hawi al-Kabir, 3/354; Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, 577; Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/55; al-Ifsah, 1/347; al-Mughni, 4/51). Malik: "A man pays, from his wealth, his wife's sadaqah of fitr, even if she has wealth; it is not for the woman to pay for herself when she has a husband: the sadaqah of fitr is upon her husband, because her maintenance is upon him" (al-Mudawwana al-Kubra, 2/355).
Al-Mawardi: "The second category: the wives; the husband owes their zakat al-fitr, whether they are well-off or destitute" (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 3/354). Ibn Qudama: "As for the wives, their fitra is upon him; Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ishaq said so" (al-Mughni, 4/51). Ibn Muflih: "He pays for his wife; an explicit text upon it" (al-Furu', 2/397).
Proofs of the first view. The sunnah: "The Messenger of Allah commanded the sadaqah of fitr for the young and the old, the free and the slave, of those whom you maintain" (takhrij cited above). The argument: whoever maintains another owes his fitra; the husband owes his wife's maintenance, so her fitra is likewise due from him. Likewise His saying in the hadith: "the young and the old": its apparent meaning is the obligation for the young, but the one addressed is his guardian, because it is he who bears his upkeep; so likewise the wife (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 3/354; al-Mughni, 2/52; Fath al-Bari, 3/369).
The reasoning proceeds in four ways: marriage is a cause by which maintenance becomes due, so the fitra becomes due by it, like ownership and kinship, unlike the zakah of wealth, which is not incurred by kinship; every cause that makes maintenance due can make zakat al-fitr due, like ownership and lineage, every right incurred by lineage being able to be incurred by marriage, such as maintenance; the husband is among the people of purity and must maintain a person of purity, so her fitra is due from him with capability, like that of his young children; finally, the analogy of the wife's fitra with that of the slave, the common factor being the obligation of maintenance in both cases (al-Ma'una ala madhhab 'alim al-Madinah, 1/264).
Second view: the wife's fitra is due out of her own wealth: the view of the Hanafis, of Sufyan al-Thawri, of Ibn al-Mundhir, of Dawud al-Zahiri, of Ibn Hazm and of Ibn Ashras among the Malikis (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 2/72; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/307; Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/55; Fath al-Bari, 3/369; Umdat al-Qari, 9/109; al-Muhalla, 6/37; al-Mughni, 4/51). Al-Kasani: "The sadaqah of fitr of the wife is not due from the husband according to our school" (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 2/72). Ibn Hazm specifies: "It is not for a man to pay it for his father, his mother, his wife, his child, nor for anyone whose maintenance he owes: it is due only for himself and his slaves. The Prophet's making zakat al-fitr obligatory upon the young and the old, the free and the slave, the male and the female, is an obligation upon each of them; it is therefore upon the wife to pay zakat al-fitr for herself and her slave, by virtue of the text" (al-Muhalla, 6/137-138).
Proofs of the second view. The sunnah: "The Messenger of Allah enjoined zakat al-fitr: a sa' of dates or a sa' of barley, upon the slave and the free, the male and the female, the young and the old, among the Muslims, and he commanded that it be paid before the people go out to the prayer" (sahih hadith cited above). The hadith mentions those upon whom zakat al-fitr is due, among them the female; the word "female" includes the wife like other women: zakat al-fitr is therefore due from the wife's wealth. Al-Hafiz al-Iraqi: "Its apparent meaning is that she pays it for herself, without distinguishing whether she has a husband or not: Abu Hanifah, Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn al-Mundhir, Dawud, Ibn Hazm and Ibn Ashras among the Malikis held this" (Tarh at-Tathrib, 4/55). Ibn Hajar: "His saying 'the male and the female' apparently means its obligation upon the woman, whether she has a husband or not" (Fath al-Bari, 3/369).
The reasoning: the condition for the cause to be complete is the completeness of guardianship; the husband's guardianship over his wife is not complete, so the cause is not complete (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 2/72). Al-Zabidi: "He does not pay for his wife because of the imperfection of guardianship and maintenance: he is not charged with her outside the rights of marriage, nor does he maintain her in stipends such as the mudd and the like" (al-Jawharah al-Nayyirah, 2/5; see al-Hidayah, 1/115; al-'Inayah, 3/321).