Zakāt al-fitr — sometimes called the fitrah or sadaqat al-fitr — is the modest charity due at the close of Ramadan, paid before the Eid al-Fitr prayer. It is obligatory on every Muslim who has the means, and it is paid not on your wealth but on your head and the heads of those you support. It is easy to overlook in the rush toward Eid, yet it carries a clear purpose: a purification of the fast and a way of ensuring the poor share in the day's joy.
How it differs from zakāt al-māl
The annual zakāt most people mean when they say "zakāt" is zakāt al-māl — zakāt on wealth. Zakāt al-fitr is a different obligation, and the differences are worth holding clearly:
| Zakāt al-māl (on wealth) | Zakāt al-fitr (the fitrah) | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Per wealth held above the niṣāb | Per head — each person you support |
| Trigger | Completing a full lunar year (ḥawl) of holding the wealth | The end of Ramadan and the approach of Eid |
| Amount | 2.5% of zakatable wealth | One small, fixed measure of staple food (or its value) |
| Who owes it | Those whose wealth exceeds the niṣāb | Every Muslim with surplus food for the day — even those below the niṣāb |
The last row is the key one. A person who owns nothing close to the zakāt-on-wealth threshold still owes zakāt al-fitr, provided they have food beyond their own and their family's needs for that day and night. It is a near-universal obligation by design — almost everyone gives, and the poor receive.
Who pays, and for whom
Zakāt al-fitr is paid by every Muslim who is able. In practice, the head of a household pays it on behalf of the whole household — for themselves, their spouse, their children, and any dependants in their care. It is customarily paid even on behalf of a child, including, by the practice of many, a child still expected before the end of Ramadan, though this last point is voluntary.
The principle is simple: one measure for each person under your responsibility.
How much
The traditional measure is one ṣāʿ — an old volumetric measure of roughly 2.5 to 3 kilograms — of a staple food of the region: wheat, barley, dates, rice, and the like. One ṣāʿ per person.
Where it is paid as a cash equivalent, the dollar figure is not fixed and changes every year, varying with food prices and from one community to the next. This page deliberately prints no amount. Instead:
Food or cash?
There is a long-standing and well-known difference of opinion on what is handed over:
- The Ḥanafī position permits paying the value of the food in cash, reasoning that what helps the poor is being met, and money lets them buy what they actually need.
- The other classical schools (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī) have traditionally preferred giving the food itself, following the literal practice described in the early reports, with cash treated as the exception rather than the norm.
Both views are held by recognised scholars and both are practised. Many Muslims in the West follow the cash-value route through their mosque or a charity for convenience and reach; others prefer to give staple food directly. Choose according to the school you follow or the guidance of a scholar you trust — and, either way, give early enough that it arrives in time.
Timing — and why it matters
Zakāt al-fitr may be set aside during Ramadan, but it must reach an eligible recipient before the Eid al-Fitr prayer. That deadline is the whole point: the charity is meant to feed the poor on the day of Eid, so that they too can celebrate rather than worry about provision.
Paid after the Eid prayer, it is generally counted as an ordinary charity (sadaqah) and loses its character as zakāt al-fitr — its function as the purification that closes the fast and the gift that lifts the poor on Eid morning is gone. Timing is not a technicality here; it is the obligation's purpose.
Who receives it
Zakāt al-fitr goes to the poor and the needy — the first two of the eight categories named for zakāt al-māl in the Qurʾān (al-Tawbah 9:60). It is welfare for the vulnerable, channelled so that those without means are not left out of the day. Local mosques and zakāt-focused charities — such as a National Zakat Foundation in your country — are set up to collect and distribute it to eligible recipients in time.