ZakÁt al-FiÔrah
2008. If a person is bÁligh and sane at the sunset of the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, and is not poor, nor a slave, in the sense that he experiences the month of Ramadan with these conditions, even if it be for a mere moment prior to sunset, he will have to pay one ÒÁÞ—approximately three kilograms—of wheat, barley, dates, raisins, rice or something similar, to a poor person, on behalf of himself and every person who is dependent on him. The obligatory precaution is that it should be an item that is commonly used as food in his locality. It will also suffice to give the monetary value of any one of these items. Obligatory precaution dictates that even a person who is unconscious at the sunset of the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr should pay the fiÔrah.
2009.A person who does not possess an amount that covers his own yearly expenses, and that of his dependants, nor does he have a source of income whereby he can provide for his own and his dependants’ yearly expenses, then such a person will be considered a poor person, and it will not be obligatory upon him to pay the fiÔrah.
2010.A person must pay the fiÔrah of those who are considered to be dependent on him at the sunset of the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, regardless of whether they are young or old, Muslim or not, and regardless of whether paying their expenses is obligatory on him or not, be they in his city or in another city.
2011.If a person appoints his dependant who resides in another city to pay his (the dependant’s) fiÔrah from the person’s property, and the person feels assured that he will pay the fiÔrah, he will not have to pay the fiÔrah of the dependant himself.
2012.The fiÔrah of a guest who arrives prior to sunset on the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, with the consent of the homeowner, and is considered to be dependent on him at the time of the obligation of ZakÁt al-fiÔrah, will be obligatory on the homeowner.
2013.If a guest arrives prior to sunset on the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, without the consent of the homeowner, and stays with him for a period of time, then obligatory precaution dictates that both the guest himself and the homeowner should pay his fiÔrah. A similar precaution should also be observed in the case of a person who has been compelled to pay for the expenses of another person.
2014.The fiÔrah of a guest who arrives after sunset on the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr is not obligatory on the homeowner, even if the invitation was extended prior to sunset, and the guest breaks his fast at his home.
2015.If a person is insane at the sunset of the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, then the zakÁt of fiÔrah will not be obligatory on him.
2016.If a child turns bÁligh prior to sunset, or an insane person becomes sane, or a poor person becomes self-sufficient, he will have to pay zakÁtal-fiÔrah should he possess the conditions that make it obligatory.
2017.If zakÁtal-fiÔrah is not obligatory on a person at the time of sunset on the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, but prior to the time of zuhr on the day of ‘Ðd he develops the conditions that make it obligatory, he should pay zakÁtal-fiÔrah based on recommended precaution.
2018.If a kÁfir converts to Islam after sunset on the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, the fiÔrah will not be obligatory on him. However, if a Muslim who was not a Shi’a converts to shi’ism after sighting the crescent, he will have to pay zakÁtal-fiÔrah.
2019.If a person only possesses one ÒÁÞ—approximately three kilograms—of wheat or something similar, it is recommended that he payszakÁtal-fiÔrah. Should he also have depandants, and wish to pay their zakÁtal-fiÔrah as well, he may give that amount of wheat to one of them with the intention of paying the fiÔrah. The recipient may then give it to another member of depenants with a similar intention, and they may continue this process until it reaches the last member. It is better that the last member gives the item that he receives to someone who is not a member of those dependants.
If one of the members is a minor, his guardian may take it for himself, and give that which he has taken for himself as zakÁtfor the minor. However, if he takes it for the minor, obligatory precaution dictates that he should not give it to anyone else.
2020.If a person is blessed with a child after sunset on the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, or someone is counted as his dependent thereafter, it is not obligatory upon him to pay his fiÔrah, although the recommended precaution is that a person should pay the fiÔrah for those who become his dependents after sunset and prior to zuhr on the day of the ‘Ðd.
2021. If a person is dependent on someone, and later becomes dependent on someone else prior to sunset, his fiÔrah will be obligatory on the one whose dependent he has become. For example, if a girl moves to her husband’s house prior to sunset, her husband will have to pay her fiÔrah.
2022.It is not obligatory for a person whose fiÔrah is to be paid by someone else, to pay the fiÔrah himself.
2023.If the fiÔrah of a person is obligatory on someone else, and the latter does not pay it, the recommended precaution is that if the person fulfils the conditions that make zakÁtal-fiÔrah obligatory on him, he should pay the fiÔrah himself.
2024.If a person whose fiÔrah is obligatory on someone else, pays the fiÔrah himself, it will not drop the obligation of the other person.
2025.If a woman whose husband does not provide for her expenses, is dependent on someone else, then herfiÔrah will be obligatory on that person. If however, she is not dependent on someone else, and fulfils the conditions that make ZakÁt al-fiÔrah obligatory, she will have to pay her own fiÔrah.
2026.A person who is not a sayyid cannot give his fiÔrah to a sayyid. In fact, even if a sayyid is dependent on him, he cannot give that sayyid’s fiÔrah to another sayyid.
2027.The fiÔrah of a child who is breast-fed by its mother or a wet nurse, is upon the person who pays for the expenses of the mother or the wet nurse. However, if the mother or the wet nurse pays for her expenses from the child’s property, then the fiÔrah of the child will not be obligatory on anyone.
2028. Even if a person pays for the expenses of his iyal (dependants) from illegally acquiredwealth, he must pay their zakÁtal-fiÔrah from wealth that is legally acquired (Halal).
2029.If a person hires someone and stipulates that he will pay for his expenses, and he fulfils that condition, he will also have to pay the latter’s fiÔrah. However, if he stipulates that he will pay for a portion of his expenses, such as giving him money to cover his expenses, and not as alimony—regardless of whether it is labeled as the wages of his labor or labeled otherwise—it will not be obligatory on him to pay his fiÔrah.
2030.If a person passes away after sunset on the evening preceding ‘Ðd al-fiÔr, his fiÔrah and that of his dependants will have to be paid from his property. However, if he dies prior to sunset, it will not be obligatory to pay his fiÔrah and that of his dependants from his property.
