In the Name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful
May Allah SWT shower all the mu’mineen with His endless blessings and generous bounties during the month of His mercy and forgiveness.
It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a):
“To fulfil [the obligation of] fasting, [it is incumbent for] zakaat al-fitra to be paid, just like invoking salawaat upon the [Holy] Prophet (saw) [during prayers is incumbent] to fulfil [the obligation] of prayers; because if one fasts, but does not pay zakaat al-fitra intentionally, it would be as if they have not fasted at all, just like if one were to [intentionally] not invoke salawaat upon the [Holy] Prophet (saw) [during prayers], it would be as if they have not prayed at all. [In surat al-a’la], Allah [SWT] starts by mentioning it [i.e. zakaat] before prayers:
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّىٰ ﴿١٤﴾ وَذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّىٰ ﴿١٥﴾
He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself. And mentions the name of his Lord and prays.[1][2]
Method of paying zakaat al-fitra electronically through a charity organization:
In the last couple of years with many mu’mineen opting to pay zakaat al-fitra electronically, the Islamic Education Department of The World Federation consulted with the office of His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Sayyed ‘Ali Sistani (May Allah SWT prolong his age), and received the following guidelines:
– When transferring the funds, it is permissible to intend it as zakaat al-Fitra even if paying before Eid day; although the recommended precaution is for the dutybound person (mukallaf) to transfer the payment with the intention of it being a loan to the organization, such as The World Federation. Then on the day of Eid, WF would physically allocate / pay it on behalf of the dutybound with the niyyah of the payment being zakaat al-fitra.
– The dutybound person (mukallaf) seeking to pay zakaat al-fitra through the organization must appoint the person or persons in it, who are responsible for zakaat al-fitra matters, as his/her representative (wakil) for paying the fitra payment on his/her behalf to the deserving needy.
– For clarity purposes, the dutybound person should make the following intention (niyyah):”I am appointing the person or persons responsible for zakaat al-fitra matters (i.e., The World Federation of KSIMC, its regional federations, local jamaats and their partners on the ground) to pay zakaat al-fitra to the deserving needy on my behalf in accordance with shar’i rules, qurbatan ilallah.”
It is preferable for this transfer to be made as soon as possible (well before Eid night) so that The World Federation and its representatives can distribute zakaat al-fitra to the deserving needy in good time.
The World Federation (and its appointed agents) will ensure that all shar’i requirements are adhered to and that due diligence is carried out whilst distributing zakaat al-fitra in line with the rulings of our Maraji’. This includes ensuring that the appropriate intention is made at the time of segregating the zakaat al-fitra funds and at the time of its disbursement.
On another note, the Islamic Education Department of The World Federation has received inquiries from Mu’mineen, asking:
“If there is a deserving needy faqir in one’s own city or country, is it permissible for them to send zakaat al-fitra electronically or physically to another city in the vicinity or abroad, through The World Federation for instance?”
Answer: According to Ayatollah Sistani (d)’s fatwa, it is permissible to transfer funds, e.g. through an electronic payment to another region and give a person or organization such as The WF for example, the power of attorney (wikaala) to pay zakaat al-fitra on one’s behalf.
However, in the spirit of addressing the hardships of local deserving needy first, The Islamic Education Department advises all Mu’mineen to pay attention to the local qualified needy in their city. Therefore, we advise them to pay the zakaat al-fitra locally, either to their Jamaats or Islamic centres. Only in the absence of a deserving qualified needy (mustahiqq) locally, should they transfer their payments abroad, to The WF, for example.
It is important to note that according to the rulings of Ayatollah Sistani (d), based on obligatory precaution, zakaat al-fitra, can only be given to the deserving qualified:
– faqir (sing. of fuqara) a poor person, i.e., someone who does not possess the means to meet his and his family’s expenses for one year, or
– miskin, a needy person; someone whose living conditions are worse than that of a poor person (faqir), e.g., someone who does not even have his sustenance/food provisions for one day.
For further details related to the rulings of zakaat al-Fitra, please click here.
May Allah SWT accept all our deeds and fasts during this holy month and bless us with the satisfaction and duas of the Imam of our Time (May Allah SWT hasten his reappearance).
Islamic Education Department
The World Federation of KSIMC
6th April 2024 – 26th of the Holy Month of Ramadhan 1445 AH.
