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Zakat Al Fitr at Dh20 Per Person

ABU DHABI — Zakat Al Fitr, the alms given to the poor by Muslims before Eid Al Fitr at the end of Ramadan, has been fixed by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Auqaf (Endowments) at Dh20 per person.

“The Sharia Committee has fixed the value of Zakat Al Fitr according to the price of rice in the domestic market, for it is regarded as the main diet of the UAE people,” Mohammed Obaid Al Mazrouie, CEO for Islamic Affairs at the authority, told Khaleej Times.

Islam requires every Muslim to pay Zakat, the amount of which is the same for everyone regardless of their different income brackets.

The minimum amount is one ‘sa’ (four double handfuls) of food, grain or dried fruit for each member of the family. This calculation is based on Ibn Umar’s report that the Prophet(PBUH) made Zakat Al Fitr compulsory and payable by a ‘sa’ of dried dates or a ‘sa’ of barley.

“It also legalised paying the amount of Zakat in cash, on the basis of the fact that it is much better and helpful for the poor,” he said, and cited in this context a Hadith (saying) by the prophet that satisfy them (the poor and needy) instead of roaming around begging (on this day) (Eid day).

Zakat is paid by the sunset of the last day of Ramadan and before dawn, the day Eid Al Fitr falls, he said. “It could be paid two or three days before Eid,” he said, “Zakat Al Fitr could be paid to the establishments and organisations concerned with distributing it to the beneficiaries.”

adel@khaleejtimes.com