upon the wife herself, the father himself, the daughter herself, and so on. It is not obligatory upon a person to give on behalf of those whom he supports, whether wives or relatives, on account of the hadith of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father): “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made Zakah al-Fitr obligatory: one saʿ of dates or one saʿ of barley, upon every male and female, free person and slave, adult and child, among the Muslims.”

The basic principle concerning an obligation is that it is binding upon each individual personally, rather than upon someone else.

Allah the Exalted says: “No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.” [al-Anʿam: 164] If Zakah al-Fitr were obligatory upon a person both for himself and for those whom he supports, one bearer of burdens would indeed bear the burden of another. However, if he pays it on behalf of those whom he supports with their consent, there is nothing wrong with that. This is like someone settling another person’s debt with his consent; there is nothing wrong with it. Moreover, it is permissible to pay Zakah on behalf of another.

A further implication of this is the case in which these dependants cannot afford Zakah al-Fitr. If we say that it is obligatory upon the one supporting them, he is sinful; but if we adopt the second view, neither he nor they are sinful, because they possess no wealth.

As for young children who have no wealth, it may be said that it is obligatory upon their fathers, since this is what is well known from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).

It is understood from the author’s words (may Allah have mercy on him) that Zakah al-Fitr is not paid on behalf of a disbelieving wife or a disbelieving slave.

Issue: If we hold that Zakah al-Fitr is obligatory on behalf of those whom one supports, and he has workers under his sponsorship, is it obligatory upon him to pay it on their behalf?