Chapter: Zakat al-Fitr

Zakat al-Fitr, the obligatory charity connected to the blessed month of Ramadan, is so named because the breaking of the fast (fitr) is the cause for which it is due; the attribution is thus a case of linking something to its cause.

Its obligation is established by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the unanimous agreement of the scholars.

Allah the Exalted says, “He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself” (Qur’an 87:14). Some of the early generations explained that the purification intended here is the payment of Zakat al-Fitr. This charity is also included in the general Qur’anic command, “and give the zakat” (Qur’an 2:43 and elsewhere).

Both Ṣaḥīḥ collections and other works relate the hadith: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made Zakat al-Fitr obligatory—one saʿ of wheat or one saʿ of barley—upon every Muslim, whether slave or free, male or female, young or old.”

Several scholars have transmitted the consensus of the Muslim community that it is mandatory.

The wisdom behind its legislation is threefold: it purifies the fasting person from idle and indecent speech, it provides food for the poor, and it is an expression of gratitude to Allah Most High for enabling the completion of the fast.