519 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prescribed Zakāt al-Fiṭr as a purification for the fasting person from idle talk and obscene speech, and as nourishment for the poor. Whoever discharges it before the prayer, it is accepted zakah; whoever discharges it after the prayer, it is merely one of the voluntary charities.” It was narrated by Abū Dāwūd and Ibn Mājah, and al-Ḥākim declared it authentic ⦗1⦘.

Degree of the ḥadith: The ḥadith is ḥasan (sound).

It was recorded by Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, al-Dāraquṭnī (2/138), al-Ḥākim, and al-Bayhaqī (7481) through the chain of Marwān ibn Muḥammad, who said: “Abū Yazīd al-Khawlānī narrated to us; Siyyār ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣadifī narrated to us; from ʿIkrimah; from Ibn ʿAbbās …” Al-Dāraquṭnī remarked, “None of the narrators is criticized; its chain is ḥasan, for they are all trustworthy and truthful.” Al-Ḥākim said, “Ṣaḥīḥ according to the criteria of al-Bukhārī,” a judgment endorsed by al-Dhahabī and Ibn al-Mulqin. The isnād was also graded ḥasan by al-Nawawī in al-Majmūʿ, by Ibn Qudāmah in al-Mughnī, and by Abū Muḥammad al-Maqdisī.

Glossary of ḥadith terms
• “Purification for the fasting person” (ṭuḥrah li-l-ṣāʾim): Linguistically, ṭuḥr denotes freedom from tangible or physical filth; here it refers to cleansing from moral defilements such as miserliness and stinginess.
• “Idle talk” (laghw): speech that carries no real value or consequence. According to al-Rāghib, the word can denote any repugnant utterance.