Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- Zakat al-mal is related to the saved money, whereas zakat al-fitr is paid by the head of the household on behalf of the family members.
2- Also, zakat al-mal is to be paid when the savings reach the prescribed nisab (minimum amount on which zakah is due), but zakat al-fitr is to be paid by the person who has food for one day. The two categories vary in the amount required for each.
Responding to the question, Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Al-Musayyar, the late Professor of Islamic Creed, Faculty of Theology at Al-Azhar University, states:
The Muslim should thank Allah for the gifts He bestowed upon him and cooperate with the people and share them in their feelings. So, he must pay the zakah, lend to the needy, and help in charitable projects in order not to receive the punishment stated in the Qur’anic verse: {And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the Way of Allah: announce unto them a most grievous penalty. On the Day when heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, “This is the (treasure) which ye buried for yourselves: taste ye, then, the (treasures) ye buried!} (At-Tawbah 9:34-35)
There are essential differences between zakat al-mal and zakat al-fitr.
Zakat al-mal relates, as its name implies, to the saved money; however, zakat al-fitr is paid by the head of the household on behalf of the family members. Also zakat al-mal is to be paid when the savings reach the prescribed value, which is equal to 20 mithqals of gold and 200 dirhams of silver.
There is no fixed nisab for zakat al-fitr, but it is to paid by the person who has one day’s meals and the members of his family on the eve of Eid Al-Fitr.
Besides, zakat al-mal can be paid at any time of the year as long as the nisab remains in one’s possession for one year.
Zakat al-fitr must be paid by the person who witnesses part of the month of Ramadan and part of the month of Shawwal.
On the other hand, the amount of zakat al-mal is a fourth of a tenth, i.e., 2.5 per cent of one’s wealth. But the amount of zakat al-fitr is two qadahs (an old measure) of rice or wheat or other usual food known in the area or their equivalent.
The evidence of the above is the hadith recorded in the two authentic books of Hadith (namely Al-Bukhari and Muslim), and reported by Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed zakat al-fitr as one sa` (an old measurement) of dates or wheat on every person whether male or female from among the Muslims.”
In another authentic hadith, the Messenger of Allah is reported to have ordered that zakat al-fitr be paid out before going to the Eid Prayer. This is done with a view to making all Muslims feel happy in that day.
It goes without saying that zakat al-mal expresses the state of richness and satisfaction of the person who gives the zakah, as it is to be paid by the well-to-do people.
On the contrary, zakat al-fitr must be paid by both the rich and poor. Therefore, the poor should pay the zakah on behalf of his household in order to make him pay the zakah as he used to receive it from the rich.
In addition, the purpose of the poor paying zakat al-fitr is to help them get the reward promised by Allah for zakah on an equal footing with the rich. This, in turn, is to encourage them and honor their dignity. This is considered a great wisdom that cannot be found in any other religion or man-made system.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.