Zakat-ul-Fitr is a charity taken for the poor a few days before the end of the fasting of Ramadan. It is also called the Sadaqat-ul-Fitr. Fitr is the Arabic word which means breaking a fast. Zakat-ul-Fitr is a smaller amount than Zakat-ul-Maal. Every Muslim is required to pay Zakat-ul-Fitr at the conclusion of the month of Ramadan as a token of thankfulness to God for having enabled him to observe fasts. Its purpose is to purify those who fast from any indecent act or speech and to help the poor and needy. It is mentioned in the Hadith which reads, “The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) enjoined Zakat-ul-Fitr on those who fast to shield them from any indecent act or speech, and for the purpose of providing food for the needy. It is accepted as Zakah for the one who pays it before the Eid prayer, and it is Sadaqah for the one who pays it after the prayer.” There are two purposes of Zakat-ul-Fitr: one is related to the individual; for completion of his fast and compensation for any shortcomings in his acts or speech. The other is related to society; for the spreading of love and happiness among its members, particularly the poor and needy during the day of Eid. It also purifies one’s soul from such shortcomings as the adoration of property, and from miserliness. In addition, it purifies one’s property from the stain of unlawful earnings. It is also a cure for ailments. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “It would be better that you treat your patients with charity.” In addition, it provides for the needs of the poor and the indigent and relieves them from having to ask others for charity on the day of Eid. Zakat-ul-Fitr is incumbent on every free Muslim who possesses one Sa` of dates or barley which is not needed as basic food for himself or his family for the duration of one day and night. Most of the scholars now establish the value of Zakat-ul-Fitr as equal to what will “gratify” or “enrich” a poor person in food for the day of Eid based on the cost of a common food staple or type in the place where what poor person lives. Every free Muslim must pay Zakat-ul-Fitr for himself, his wife, children, and servants. It is a virtuous wisdom of Islam that it makes this Zakah obligatory not only on the rich, but also upon nearly every Muslim, for you can hardly find a person who does not possess one Sa` of food above his main staple food for the duration of one day and night.
We have to bear in mind that Zakat-ul-Fitr is obligatory for everyone who lives until the sun sets on the last day of Ramadan.
The wisdom behind this obligation, therefore, is to prepare the poor to practice benevolence and feel the dignity and honour of giving in charity. Thus if we contemplate on this wisdom, we will not find it strange that the needy pay this Zakah, because it does not cause them to suffer any loss. He will pay only his Zakah and then receive the Zakah of various people. Moreover, we have to bear in mind that Zakat-ul-Fitr is obligatory for everyone who lives until the sun sets on the last day of Ramadan.
