Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr Qimatan (Naqdan)

Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr Qimatan (Naqdan) (The Ruling on Discharging Zakat al-Fitr in Monetary Value [Cash]) is a contemporary legal treatise by Mahmoud bin Ibrahim al-Khatib examining the juristic rulings and debates surrounding paying the post-Ramadan charity (zakat al-fitr) in cash rather than in food staples Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…+1.

Background and Purpose

The author notes that across many contemporary Muslim societies, state religious authorities and official institutions routinely issue annual decrees fixing the cash equivalent of zakat al-fitr in local currencies—such as dinars, pounds, and riyals—leading many Muslims to pay cash without a pressing necessity Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…+1. Al-Khatib authored the study to address the recurring controversy among students of Islamic knowledge near the end of Ramadan each year, arguing that textual prophetic traditions prescribe paying zakat al-fitr in kind (‘aynan) from the staple food of the community Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…+1.

Methodology and Structure

The work employs a descriptive and inductive (istiqra'i) method, surveying classical juristic positions across schools, evaluating their proofs, and determining the preponderant ruling according to textual sources and the practice of the early generations (al-salaf al-salih) Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…. The treatise is structured into four main inquiries (matalib) followed by a conclusion:

• First Inquiry (al-Matlab al-Awwal): The concept of monetary value (al-qimah) in relation to zakat al-fitr Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr….
• Second Inquiry (al-Matlab al-Thani): The legal ruling of zakat al-fitr Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr….
• Third Inquiry (al-Matlab al-Thalith): The underlying wisdom behind the obligation and its designated quantity Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr….
• Fourth Inquiry (al-Matlab al-Rabi‘): The legal opinions of the jurists concerning paying zakat al-fitr in monetary value Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr….
• Conclusion (al-Khatimah): A summary of the book's principal deductions and findings Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…+1.

Juristic Discourse and Findings

In the fourth inquiry, al-Khatib divides the classical juristic stances on paying cash into two primary orientations Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…. He documents the permissibility position held by Abu Hanifa, Sufyan al-Thawri, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, al-Hasan al-Basri, and Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi, who maintained that monetary payment is valid or preferable because it directly aids the poor in purchasing what they need Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr….

Al-Khatib defends the majority position (jumhur), which prohibits paying value in place of staple food Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…. His primary arguments include:

• Zakat al-fitr is an act of ritual worship (tawqifiyyah), and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ explicitly fixed multiple food types of varying market values by volume (sa‘), demonstrating that the physical commodity (al-‘ayn) was intended rather than monetary worth Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…+1.
• Currency (gold dinars and silver dirhams) was circulating in Medina during the prophetic period and flowed heavily into the early Islamic state during the caliphates of Umar ibn al-Khattab and other Companions, yet they did not substitute money for food in zakat al-fitr Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr….
• The purpose of enriching the poor on Eid is specifically met through providing food, whereas general poverty and cash needs are meant to be addressed by standard wealth zakat (zakat al-mal), state welfare endowments, and ongoing charitable institutions throughout the year Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…+1.
• Addressing contemporary arguments—such as claims that grains like barley are no longer customary food or that institutional collection is easier in cash—the author maintains that zakat al-fitr is discharged from whatever constitutes the local staple food (such as rice or wheat) and that if food supplies exceed local demand, the food should be transported to needy communities elsewhere Hukm Ikhraj Zakat al-Fitr…+1.