Clarifying the Rulings of Sadaqat ul Fitr By the Noble Shaykh Saleh ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan

All praise is due to Allah who by His Favour has completed Righteousness, and Pe ace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad who was the first of the predeces sors to guide towards good. And Peace and Blessings be upon his progeny and his Companions, and whomsoever hold on to his Sunnah until the Day of Resurrection. Know that Allah (subhaanahua wa ta a laa) has made Sadaqat ul Fitr the seal of Fasti ng and we praise Him (Allah) for giving us this perfect realization. We ask Alla h to accept from us and to make us from those who are protected from the Fire in the end. (Ameen) The Obligation of Giving Sadaqat ul Fitr O Muslims, Allah (subhaanahua wa ta a laa) has set for you at the end of this grea t Month religious acts of worship that would increase you all in closeness to Hi m (subhaanahua wa ta a laa). For Allah has set for you Sadaqat ul Fitr as a purifica tion for those who fasted from vain speech and sins. The Messenger of Allah (sal -Allhu 'alayhi wa sallam) has made it compulsory upon the young and old, the male and female, the liberated slave and the servant. Sadaqat ul Fitr is a purificatio n for the body, food given to the poor, and comfort to the needy. The Muslim man is required to give Sadaqat ul Fitr on behalf of himself, as well as those who ar e under his care such as his wife, children, family, etc. It is upon him to give Sadaqat ul Fitr for each one of them, and it is even recommended that an individu al fulfills it for his unborn child. The Place of Giving Sadaqat ul Fitr The place which one gives his Sadaqat ul Fitr is the city in which he resides, and where he completed the whole Month. In addition, if the people on behalf of who m he fulfils the Sadaqat ul Fitr is from a different city (from which he resides) then it becomes permissible for him to give it on behalf of them, along with his own Sadaqat ul Fitr in the city where he lives. It is also permissible for him to give it on behalf of him and them in their city (where they reside). The Time of Giving Sadaqat ul Fitr The time for giving Sadaqat ul Fitr begins from the setting of the sun on the nigh t of Eid (i.e., when the new moon is sighted on the night before), and it contin ues until the Eid Salaah (on the next day), and it is permissible to distribute it one or two days before Eid. The evidence for this is the hadeeth collected in Sahah al-Bukharee on the authority of Ibn Umar (radhi-yAllhu 'anhu) that the Com panions used to give Sadaqat ul Fitr one or two days before the Feast (meaning the Eid Prayer). The delaying of giving Sadaqat ul Fitr until before the Salaah on th e morning of Eid is better, and if one does not fulfill this obligation before t he Eid Salaah without a valid excuse, then he has sinned. It then becomes an obl igation upon him to fulfill giving Sadaqat ul Fitr throughout the rest of the day. And if he does not fulfill the obligation of Sadaqat ul Fitr on the day of Eid, t hen he must make up for it after the day of Eid. This is based on the hadeeth co llected by Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah on the authority of ibn Abbaas that the Mess enger of Allah (sal-Allhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: If anyone pays it (Sadaqat ul Fitr) before the feast prayer, it will be accepted as zakaah, and if anyone pays it after the prayer, it will be considered a charity like other charities.

Therefore this clearly means that Sadaqat ul Fitr must be given in its correct tim e in order to receive its reward. The times for giving Sadaqat ul Fitr can be separated into four: Permissible: this means one or two days before Eid; The best time: this is between the setting of the sun on the night of Eid until before the Salaah; A time that will suffice, but with a sin: this is the time after the Salaah unti l the end of the day; The expiation time: this time is after the day of Eid. The one who has the right to Sadaqat ul Fitr The one that has a right to Sadaqat ul Fitr is the one who has a right to Zakaatul Mal (i.e. the wealth from the compulsory Zakaat), from the poor and needy and s imilar to them. Therefore it must be given at its due time to the due recipients entitled to receive Zakaah, or to his Wakeel (i.e. his representative). It is n ot acceptable to give it to a person who is not a Wakeel (representative) of the one who has the right upon it. The types of foods that should be given as Sadaqat ul Fitr As for the type of foods that should be given and the permissibility for people using the staple food of their country, then there is a hadeeth related in the t wo Saheehs and other books of hadeeth stating that Allah s Messenger (sal-Allhu alay hi wa sallam) enjoined Sadaqat ul Fitr to be paid with one Sa a of dates, or one Sa a of barley on every Muslim, free or slave, male or female, young or old. The five staple foods in the time of the Messenger of Allah (sal-Allhu alayhi wa sallam) w ere: wheat, barley, dates, raisins, and cheese. Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyah (raheemul lah) states these (the five food types) used to be the staple food in Madeenah, thus people living in a village or city were staple food differs from the above are to pay one Sa a (approximately 3 kilograms) of their own staple food (as Sadaq at ul Fitr). Thus, if their staple food is other than grain, such as milk, meat or fish, they are to give Sadaqat ul Fitr thereof, whatever it may be. This is the o pinion of the majority of the scholars, which is regarded as the correct one in this regard, and there are no other contrary opinions to be followed. This is be cause Sadaqat ul Fitr is legally legislated to support the needy on the day of the Feast with the same staple food of the people in the same place where they live . Therefore, it is sufficient for the Muslim to give the needy flour as Sadaqat ul Fitr, though it is not one of the five food types of the food mentioned in the hadeeth of the Prophet (sal-Allhu alayhi wa sallam) in this regard. Though bread a nd cooked food can be useful for the needed, and cost little to prepare for eati ng, grains are likely to be more useful to them since it can last for a longer t ime. The Permissibility of Giving Money as Sadaqat ul Fitr It is not sufficient for a Muslim to give money which is equivalent to the value of the legally prescribed amount of staple food as Sadaqat ul Fitr, and that is b ecause it contradicts the Quran and the Sunnah of Messenger of Allah (sal-Allhu al ayhi wa sallam). Know that money was present in the time of the Prophet (sal-Allh u alayhi wa sallam), and had it been sufficient to give money, he would have clar ified this to his Ummah, therefore whoever gives a legal opinion to use money in stead of grain for Sadaqat ul Fitr, has given a legal opinion based on his own Ijt ihaad (assessment), and he has wronged himself and sinned in his Ijtihaad. This giving of money instead of grain for Sadaqat ul Fitr is a contradiction to the Sun nah, likewise the one that makes Ijtihaad in this affair cannot transmit a narra tion from the Prophet (sal-Allhu alayhi wa sallam), and none from his companions t hat money was used for Sadaqat ul Fitr.

Imaam Ahmad (raheemahullah) said: A Muslim is not to pay the poor money instead o f the prescribed amount of staple food for Sadaqat ul Fitr. It was said to him, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz used to accept money for Sadaqat ul Fitr. He (Imaam Ahmad) replied, How could they adhere to the sayings of so-and-so, and ignore the hadeeth of the Prophet (sal-Allhu alayhi wa sallam) stated in this regard. Ibn Umar said Allah s M essenger (sal-Allhu alayhi wa sallam) enjoined Sadaqat ul Fitr to be paid with one S a a.