Hukm of Paying Zakat Fitr by Money and Authorising Another Person in Paying It
27. Hukm of Paying Zakat Fitr by Money and Authorising Another Person in Paying It
How can the student who studies in America pay zakat fitr for himself, his wife and his sons as known he didnt find muslims who deserve to take the share of zakat (alms-tax), and the board in the mosque say that they have to pay zakat by money (8 dollars/person), so, what is the hukm for this ? must he pay with money ? does he have to pay it to who does not need it like giving it to his friend or giving it to a non-muslim if he has hopes in case his heart or he should ask his family in Kuwait to pay zakat on behalf of him from his money in Kuwait ?
Bukhori (3/367) and muslim reported as narrated by Ibn Umar, that the messenger of Allah obliged to pay zakat fitr in Ramadlan a Sa’ of dates or wheat for every slave and free person,male and female, childr and adult of the muslim, and ordered that it be paid before the people come out to perform shalat (Eid prayers).
Abu Said Al-Khudri narrated : We used to pay zakat fitr in the lifetime of the prophet for every child and adult person, free and slave by a sa’ of food or aqit or wheat or dates or raisins (Bukhori 3/371 and Muslim).
Therefore what is obliged to pay in sadaqah fitr is a sa’ of wheat or date or raisins or aqit or rice, corn, lentils, etc. of what is considered as staple food in out time like dried milk or cheese as it’s like “aqit”.
Tirmidzi said : and it is the saying of Shafi’I and Ishaq, and this is Islamic scholars’ action as they said to pay zakat fitr by a sa’.
And it’s not enough to pay zakt fitr by it’s value (money) according most islamic scholars’ opinions. Scholar Ahmad was asked even about giving dirhams (silver currency/money) in order to pay zakat fitr, he said : fear of it not being enough it is not in accordance with the prophetic way, it was said to him, people say : Umar ibn Abdul Aziz took qimah (meant-money-) as zakat ? he said : They leave behind the prophet’s saying and say : somebody said ? Ibn Umar Said : The Messenger of Allah has obliged zakat fitr by so’ of dates, wheat, Allah said : and obey Allah and obey the Messenger of Allah. (Al-Mughni 4/295).
And its preferred time : before going out to perform Eid prayer, for Ibn Umar’s hadith previous. And he ordered that it zakat fitr be paid before the people come out to performs Eid prayer.
And a hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas : The prophet obliged zakat fitr in order to purify the fasting person from talking nonsense saying bad things and to feed the poor, whosoever performed it before performing Eid prayer, then it’s an accepted zakat, and whosoever performed it before performing Eid prayer, then it’s a kind of sadaqah (charity)”. As narrated by Abu Daud and Ibn Majah. Most islamic scholars say that it’s allowed to pay zakat in advance a day or two before Eid fitr.
Nafi’ said : Ibn Umar used to give zakat to who to accept it, and they used to give it one or two days before Eid fitr (Bukhori 3/357).
It is narrated in Muwatta’ from Nafi’ : that Ibn Umar used to send zakat fitr to its collector at his place two or three days before Eid”. (reported by Shafi’i) and he said that it is hasan hadith.
It’s also prven by what bukhori reported as narrated by Abu Hurairah : The prophet authorized me to take care of ramadan zakat (alhadith) and in it he told that he caught the satan on 3 nights while he (the satan) was taking the dates (zakat’s food). This shows that they paid in advance, as said by Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar in “Al-Fath” 3/377.
And it’s all right to authorize one person to pay zakat on behalf himself because he is travelling and the like.
As for where zakat must be given to, it has explained in a hadith which narrated by Ibn Abbas : The prophet obliged zakat fitr in order to to purify the fasting person from non-sense things and dishonoured words and to feed charity) the poor. (Al-Hadith).
Ibn Al-Qoyyim said : And it’s included in the prophet’s way to confine this charity for the poor, and he used not to allocate this charity to the eight groups (who deserved to accept zakat), hand by hand and also none of his companions nor anyone afterthat, and one of two opinions which we have, is that : It’s not allowed to allocate/give this charity except for the poor.
And this opinion is stronger then the opinion of that is must be divided among the eight groups. (Zaad Al-Ma’ad).
And this which sheikh islam Ibn Taimiya has chosen.
And most Islamic scholars say that it must be allocated for the (Poor) and nothing of it is given to the poor from among theDhimmie (non muslims live under the protection of an Islamic Government) even few.