Assalaamu Alaykum Warahmatulla hee Wa Barakaatuhu
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]Where to pay zakaat al-fitr
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[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]I am a young man living in Kuwait, but I have taken my daughter to America for medical treatment and I fasted Ramadaan in America. Do I have to pay zakaat al-fitr in America or can I delegate my family in Kuwait to pay it on my behalf? What is the ruling on paying zakaat al-fitr in cash? Please note that in America they pay it in cash instead of giving staple food.
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[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]The scholars (may Allaah be pleased with them) stated that zakaat al-fitr is connected to numbers of people, not money, and it is to be paid in the place where a person is on the night before Eid. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni (4/134): [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]As for zakaat al-fitr, it is to be paid in the land where the person from whom it is due is present, whether his wealth is there or not. End quote. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]As for paying zakaat al-fitr in cash, please note that it must be given in the form of food, and that paying it in cash is NOT acceptable. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]So you must try to give it in the form of food. If the poor person refuses the food and asks for cash, then there is nothing wrong with your giving it as cash in that case, because of need or necessity. [/FONT]
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[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]Should zakaat al-fitr be given to one person, or distributed among several? [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]It is permissible to give zakaat al-fitr on behalf of one person to one person, and it is also permissible to distribute it among a number of people.
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[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]Is there a duaa to be said when paying zakaat al-fitr? [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]We do not know of any specific duaa to be said when paying it. [/FONT]
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[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]Ruling on zakaat al-fitr and how much is to be paid [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]Sadaqat al-fitr is obligatory upon every Muslim who is self-supporting, if he has one saa or more than he needs of food for himself and his family on the day and night of Eid. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]The basis for that is the report narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined zakaat al-fitr, a saa of dates, or a saa of barley, upon all the Muslims, slave and free, male and female, young and old, and he commanded that it be paid before the people went out to pray.” Agreed upon; this version was narrated by al-Bukhaari. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]And Abu Saeed al-Khudri narrated: “We used to pay zakaat al-fitr when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was alive, a saa’ of food or a saa’ of dates or a saa’ of barley or a saa’ of raisins or a saa’ of dried yoghurt.” Agreed upon. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]It is acceptable to give a saa of the local staple food such as rice etc. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]What is meant by a saa’ here is the saa of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is four times the amount that may be held in the two hands of a man of average build. If a person does not pay zakaat al-fitr, he is sinning, and he has to make it up. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas, 9/364[/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]The basis for that is the report narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined zakaat al-fitr, a saa of dates, or a saa of barley, upon all the Muslims, slave and free, male and female, young and old, and he commanded that it be paid before the people went out to pray.” Agreed upon; this version was narrated by al-Bukhaari. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]And Abu Saeed al-Khudri narrated: “We used to pay zakaat al-fitr when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was alive, a saa’ of food or a saa’ of dates or a saa’ of barley or a saa’ of raisins or a saa’ of dried yoghurt.” Agreed upon. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]It is acceptable to give a saa of the local staple food such as rice etc. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]What is meant by a saa’ here is the saa of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is four times the amount that may be held in the two hands of a man of average build. If a person does not pay zakaat al-fitr, he is sinning, and he has to make it up. [/FONT]
[FONT=garamond, new york, times, serif]Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas, 9/364[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana, helvetica, sans-serif]And Allaah is the Source if strength. [/FONT]
