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Fatwa CenterZakat-ul-Fitr obligatory on those who are not required to fast
Question
Zakat-ul-Fitr has been prescribed to purify the fasting person. There is a difference of opinion among the schools of jurisprudence over when exactly one is to pay this zakah. However, it is unanimously agreed upon that this zakah must be paid before, and not after, the ‘Eid prayer. If somebody missed days of fasting in Ramadan because of sickness or travelling, does he have to provide Zakat-ul-Fitr once again after he finishes making up those days, or is the zakah that he gave before the ‘Eid prayer sufficient? If somebody missed the fasting of the entire month of Ramadan because he was sick, can he delay Zakat-ul-Fitr until he makes up the fasting that he has missed? Or is it valid if he pays Zakat-ul-Fitr before the eid prayer and is he only required to make up for the missed fasting?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Zakat-ul-Fitr is a time-bound worship. That is, it must be observed before the ‘Eid prayer. However, scholars disagree over the very exact time at which one is to deliver this zakah; is it after the sunset of the last day of Ramadan or after the dawn of the ‘Eid day?
That Zakat-ul-Fitr is obligatory is not contingent upon one’s fulfillment of the fasting. This is because this type of zakah is not obligatory on the people who are required to fast only; rather the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, imposed this zakah on free people and slaves, males and females, and the young and the old, as narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. A Muslim is not required to pay Zakat-ul-Fitr more than once, as unanimously stated by the Muslim scholars.
Based on this, whoever pays Zakat-ul-Fitr at its specified time in Ramadan while he has missed the fasting of some or all of the month, then he will not have to pay zakah again after he makes up for the fasting that he has missed. In other words, a person who misses some or all of Ramadan must provide Zakat-ul-Fitr at its due time; the person is not allowed to delay the zakah until he makes up for his missed fasting. One should keep in mind that the purpose for which Zakat-ul-Fitr is prescribed is to care for the poor and make them happy on the 'Eid day.
Allah knows best.
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