Fiqh Al Zakah by Dr. Yusuf al Qardawi

According to Ibn Rushd, it is unanimously agreed upon that zakah of al fitr must be given to Muslim poor and needy, since the Prophet (p) referred to them when he said "Make them satisfied on the day of fitr." The majority of scholars do not accept giving this religious due to poor people of the Pledge. Abu Hanifah believes this is permissible and some others allow giving only monks of people of the Pledge.1 Ibn Abi Shaibah reports that Abu Maisarah used to give zakah of al fitr to monks.2 Similar reports come from 'Amr bin Maimun, 'Amr bin Shurahbil, and Murrah al Hamadani.3 This is undoubtedly a humanistic gesture from Muslim jurists in trying to make everybody happy on the day of the feast.

The Shafi'i school argues that, like any other zakah, zakah of al fitr must be distributed equally among the same eight categories, except when distributed by the payer--in which case the categories of "workers of the zakah fund" and "those whose hearts are being reconciled" are excluded.4 This is also the view of Ibn Hazm.5 Ibn al Qayyim rejects this view and argues that the practice of the Prophet (p) and his Companions was to give it only to the poor and needy. This is so, he continues, to the extent that some Hanbalites believe it is not permissible to distribute it otherwise. Ibn al Qayyim adds that this opinion carries more weight.6 Malikites assert that this zakah must be paid exclusively to the poor and needy, even if it must be shipped to another country at the expense of the payer, because of lack of poor deservants in the land where it is due.7 Al Hadi, al Qasim, and Abu Talib share the view of the Malikites.

Three opinions can be distinguished:

1. Zakah of al fitr must be distributed among the eight categories, which is al Shafi'i's view.

2. It is exclusively for the poor and needy.

3 It can be distributed to all eight groups, to some of them, or to the poor alone, since it is included under the general text "Sadaqat are only to the poor and needy . . ." This is the view of the majority of jurists.

It is important to notice that the argument for the exclusivity of payment to the poor based on the saying "Make them satisfied on this day" is not specific in preventing giving to other categories. It is like the saying that zakah is "taken from the rich to be rendered to the poor", yet zakah is paid to the eight categories. Thus, zakah of al fitr must be covered by the general text of the verse mentioned above, although it is conceivable that one must give priority to the poor and needy.

As in the case of zakah on wealth, zakah of al fitr must not be given to disbelievers, apostates, the rich, or persons who can earn. It must also not be paid to persons for whose expenses the payer is responsible, such as the payer's father, son, or wife. The same details studied with regard to zakah on wealth apply here.

Lastly, the zakah payer may give his or her zakah to one or more poor persons, and by the same token, zakah collected from several payers may be given to one or more recipient, since there is no evidence to prevent any of these cases,9 although some jurists dislike dividing one's zakah among several recipients and giving the zakah of several payers to one recipient on the grounds that this may not fulfill the objective of enriching all the poor on the day of 'Id.10

As for transporting zakah of al fitr from one land to another, the same principle applied on other forms of zakah is applicable here; i.e., first the poor and needy in the area where zakah is due must be satisfied and the leftover may be transported, except in case of emergencies or higher priority.11