❀ What Is Sadaqat al-Fitr? ❀
By: Imran Ayub Lahori
Sadaqat al-Fitr refers to a specific form of charity that is given at the end of the month of Ramadan, before the Eid prayer. It is one Ṣāʿ of staple food, to be given on behalf of every individual, regardless of age or gender, from one's daily consumed food.
It is narrated from Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
فَرَضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ زَكَاةَ الْفِطْرِ صَاعًا مِنْ تَمْرٍ، أَوْ صَاعًا مِنْ شَعِيرٍ، عَلَى الْعَبْدِ وَالْحُرِّ، وَالذَّكَرِ وَالْأُنْثَى، وَالصَّغِيرِ وَالْكَبِيرِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَأَمَرَ بِهَا أَنْ تُؤَدَّى قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ النَّاسِ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made Zakat al-Fitr obligatory: one Ṣāʿ of dates or one Ṣāʿ of barley, upon every Muslim — whether slave or free, male or female, young or old — and he commanded that it be paid before the people go out for (Eid) prayer."
[Bukhārī: 1503 | Muslim: 984 | Abū Dāwūd: 1611 | Nasāʾī: 5/48 | Ibn Mājah: 1826 | Tirmidhī: 676 | Muwaṭṭaʾ: 1/284 | Aḥmad: 2/137 | Dārimī: 1/392 | Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār: 1/320]
This Hadith establishes that Sadaqat al-Fitr is obligatory.
➤ Ibn al-Mundhir (رحمه الله):
He reported consensus (ijmāʿ) on its obligation.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/143]
➤ Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله):
He considered it obligatory (farḍ).
➤ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله):
He considered it wājib (mandatory) but not farḍ, because it is not established through a definitive (qaṭʿī) proof.
He further held that Zakat al-Fitr becomes obligatory only when a person owns wealth equivalent to the niṣāb, though there is no explicit evidence for this condition. Therefore, anyone who possesses surplus food beyond the household’s immediate needs should give Sadaqat al-Fitr.
[al-Ḥāwī: 3/384 | al-Umm: 2/84 | Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ: 2/74 | al-Mabsūṭ: 3/108 | al-Mughnī: 3/89]
A narration from Qays ibn Saʿd (رضي الله عنه) is sometimes cited to claim that the obligation of Sadaqat al-Fitr was abrogated after the prescription of Zakat. However, the Hadith itself does not support this conclusion:
أمرنا رسول الله بصدقة الفطر قبل أن تنزل الزكاة، فلما نزلت الزكاة لم يأمرنا ولم ينهنا ونحن نفعله
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us to give Sadaqat al-Fitr before Zakat was revealed. When Zakat was revealed, he neither instructed us further nor forbade us, and we continued giving it."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Nasāʾī: 2350 | Ibn Mājah: 1828 | Nasāʾī: 5/49 | Ḥākim: 1/410 | Bayhaqī: 4/159]
This Hadith merely describes the timing of the command and does not contain any indication of abrogation. It refers to an additional obligation, not a cancelled one.
① Sadaqat al-Fitr is a form of charity given before Eid prayer, at the end of Ramadan.
② It is to be paid by every Muslim on behalf of themselves and their dependents.
③ The amount is one Ṣāʿ (approximately 2.5 kg) of staple food.
④ According to the majority of scholars, it is farḍ (obligatory), while Abū Ḥanīfah regards it as wājib.
⑤ There is no valid evidence that it was abrogated after the revelation of Zakat.
By: Imran Ayub Lahori
✿ Definition and Timing
Sadaqat al-Fitr refers to a specific form of charity that is given at the end of the month of Ramadan, before the Eid prayer. It is one Ṣāʿ of staple food, to be given on behalf of every individual, regardless of age or gender, from one's daily consumed food.
✿ Hadith on the Obligation of Sadaqat al-Fitr
It is narrated from Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
فَرَضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ زَكَاةَ الْفِطْرِ صَاعًا مِنْ تَمْرٍ، أَوْ صَاعًا مِنْ شَعِيرٍ، عَلَى الْعَبْدِ وَالْحُرِّ، وَالذَّكَرِ وَالْأُنْثَى، وَالصَّغِيرِ وَالْكَبِيرِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَأَمَرَ بِهَا أَنْ تُؤَدَّى قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ النَّاسِ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made Zakat al-Fitr obligatory: one Ṣāʿ of dates or one Ṣāʿ of barley, upon every Muslim — whether slave or free, male or female, young or old — and he commanded that it be paid before the people go out for (Eid) prayer."
[Bukhārī: 1503 | Muslim: 984 | Abū Dāwūd: 1611 | Nasāʾī: 5/48 | Ibn Mājah: 1826 | Tirmidhī: 676 | Muwaṭṭaʾ: 1/284 | Aḥmad: 2/137 | Dārimī: 1/392 | Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār: 1/320]
This Hadith establishes that Sadaqat al-Fitr is obligatory.
✿ Scholarly Views on Its Ruling
➤ Ibn al-Mundhir (رحمه الله):
He reported consensus (ijmāʿ) on its obligation.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/143]
➤ Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله):
He considered it obligatory (farḍ).
➤ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله):
He considered it wājib (mandatory) but not farḍ, because it is not established through a definitive (qaṭʿī) proof.
He further held that Zakat al-Fitr becomes obligatory only when a person owns wealth equivalent to the niṣāb, though there is no explicit evidence for this condition. Therefore, anyone who possesses surplus food beyond the household’s immediate needs should give Sadaqat al-Fitr.
[al-Ḥāwī: 3/384 | al-Umm: 2/84 | Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ: 2/74 | al-Mabsūṭ: 3/108 | al-Mughnī: 3/89]
✿ Response to the Argument of Abrogation
A narration from Qays ibn Saʿd (رضي الله عنه) is sometimes cited to claim that the obligation of Sadaqat al-Fitr was abrogated after the prescription of Zakat. However, the Hadith itself does not support this conclusion:
أمرنا رسول الله بصدقة الفطر قبل أن تنزل الزكاة، فلما نزلت الزكاة لم يأمرنا ولم ينهنا ونحن نفعله
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us to give Sadaqat al-Fitr before Zakat was revealed. When Zakat was revealed, he neither instructed us further nor forbade us, and we continued giving it."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Nasāʾī: 2350 | Ibn Mājah: 1828 | Nasāʾī: 5/49 | Ḥākim: 1/410 | Bayhaqī: 4/159]
This Hadith merely describes the timing of the command and does not contain any indication of abrogation. It refers to an additional obligation, not a cancelled one.
✔ Summary
① Sadaqat al-Fitr is a form of charity given before Eid prayer, at the end of Ramadan.
② It is to be paid by every Muslim on behalf of themselves and their dependents.
③ The amount is one Ṣāʿ (approximately 2.5 kg) of staple food.
④ According to the majority of scholars, it is farḍ (obligatory), while Abū Ḥanīfah regards it as wājib.
⑤ There is no valid evidence that it was abrogated after the revelation of Zakat.
