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Sadaqatul fitr is
wajib on the following persons: (1) the person upon whom zakât is
wajib, (2) the person upon whom zakât is not wajib but who has
wealth equal to the nisâb of zakât over and above his basic needs. This
is irrespective of whether the wealth is for the purposes of trade or not and
irrespective of whether he had it in his possession for a full year or not. This
sadaqah has to be given on or before the day of eid
ul-fitr.

A person has a
massive house, very expensive clothing which does not have any gold or silver
lace on it, he has a few servants, he has lots of furniture and other items but
does not have any jewellery, and all these items are in use. Sadaqatul fitr is
not wajib on such a person. Alternatively, he has certain items which are
over and above his basic needs, some of his clothing has gold or silver lace on
it, and he also has some jewellery. However, all these items do not reach the
nisâb of zakât. Sadaqatul fitr is also not wajib on such a
person.

A
person owns two houses. He lives in one, and the other is either empty or
given out on rent. This house is over and above his basic need. Therefore, if
its value is equal to the nisâb of zakât, sadaqatul fitr will be
wajib on him. It is also not permissible to give zakât to such a person.
However, if this person is dependent on this second house, it will be considered
to be a basic necessity and sadaqatul fitr will not be wajib on him. It
will be permissible for him to accept zakât and to give zakât to him as well. In
short, sadaqatul fitr is not wajib on a person who is permitted to
receive zakât and other wajib forms of sadaqah. As for the one who
is not permitted to receive such charities, sadaqatul fitr will be wajib
on him.

A person has some
wealth that is over and above his basic needs. However, he is also in debt. In
such a case, his debts should be deducted from his wealth. If the balance of his
wealth equals the nisâb of zakât, sadaqatul fitr will be wajib on
him. But if it falls short of the nisâb, sadaqatul fitr will not be
wajib.

Sadaqatul fitr
becomes wajib at the time of fajr on the day of eid
ul-fitr. If a person passes away before the entry of fajr time,
sadaqatul fitr will not be wajib on him nor will it be given from his
wealth.

It is best to give
the sadaqatul fitr before going to the eid -gah. If it is not given
before, there will be no harm in giving it after the eid
salât.

If a person gives
his sadaqatul fitr before the day of eid, i.e. in Ramadân, it will
be fulfilled. It is not necessary to give it a second time.

If a person does not
give his sadaqatul fitr on or before the day of eid, he will not be
absolved from this duty. He will have to fulfil it at some time or the
other.

Sadaqatul fitr is
wajib only on oneself and not on behalf of someone else: neither on one’s
children, one’s parents, one’s husband nor anyone else.

If a small child
receives some wealth through inheritance or some other way, and this wealth
equals the nisâb, sadaqatul fitr should be given from this wealth of his.
But if the child is born on the day of eid after the time of fajr
sets in (dawn), sadaqatul fitr will not be wajib on
him.

Sadaqatul fitr is
wajib on those who fast in Ramadân and also on those who missed
out some fasts due to some reason or the other. There is no difference in ruling
between the two.

If a person wishes
to give wheat, wheat flour or parched, grounded wheat as sadaqatul fitr, he
should give approximately one and half to two kilos. It would be preferable to
give a little more than this amount. But if he wishes to give barley or barley
flour, he should give double this amount, i.e. between 3 to 4
kilos.

If a person wishes
to give any other dry grocery such as gram or rice, he should give an amount
that equals the value of the amount of wheat or barley that has been mentioned
above.

It is best to give
the value of the wheat or barley in cash instead of the actual wheat or
barley.

The sadaqatul fitr
of one person could be given to one poor person or distributed among several
poor persons.

It is also
permissible to give the sadaqatul fitr of several persons to one single poor
person.

Those who are
entitled to receive zakât are also entitled to receive sadaqatul
fitr.

If the marriage of
an immature girl is performed and she is sent to her husband’s house,
sadaqatul fitr will be wajib on her if she is rich. But if she is
poor, we will have to see if she is old enough to serve her husband and at the
same time old enough to be in his company. If she is old enough for both these
things, sadaqatul fitr will not be wajib on her, her husband nor
her father. But if she is not capable to do both these things, sadaqatul
fitr will be wajib on her father. If she is not sent to her husband’s
house as yet, sadaqatul fitr will be wajib on her father
irrespective of whether she is old enough to do both the above or
not.