How Much Should Be Paid for Zakat al Fitr, and Is Giving Money the Sounder Opinion Today?
Question
Salam Imam,
How much should I pay for zakat al fitr this Ramadan? Some masajid say 10 dollars, others say 15 dollars. Some also say you cannot give money and must buy rice or food and give it away.
Can you please explain what is going on?
Jazakum Allah khairan.
Answer
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah, wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajmain.
The confusion around zakat al fitr today is not because of disagreement over its obligation, but because of how best to fulfill its purpose in a modern context. When the evidences, objectives, and lived realities are considered together, the issue becomes clear.
1. The Shar‘i Basis of Zakat al Fitr
Zakat al fitr is an obligation upon every Muslim who possesses surplus beyond the needs of the day and night of Eid.
Ibn Umar reported:
“The Messenger of Allah obligated zakat al fitr as one sa‘ of dates or one sa‘ of barley upon every Muslim, free or slave, male or female.”
Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
The scholars agreed that the amount is one sa‘ of staple food, and that its objective is to enrich the poor on the day of Eid and purify the fasting person.
2. The Amount Does Not Change, but Its Value Does
One sa‘ is a volume measurement, approximately 2.5 to 3 kilograms of staple food such as rice, wheat, flour, or similar.
The Sharia fixed the measure, not a currency amount. The cash value therefore changes according to:
- Time
- Place
- Market prices
This is why fixed figures like 10 dollars or 15 dollars are estimates, not religious numbers.
3. Why 10 Dollars Is No Longer Sound
In many places today, 10 dollars no longer represents the value of one sa‘ of staple food.
If we look at current market reality:
- Three kilograms of basic rice, such as plain long grain or minute rice, is approximately 15 dollars at major retailers like Costco in Ramadan 2025.
- Setting zakat al fitr at 10 dollars falls below the required value of one sa‘.
This means that paying 10 dollars does not fulfill the obligation if it does not equal the value of one sa‘ of food.
4. Food vs Money and the Stronger Opinion Today
The classical disagreement is well known.
- The Maliki, Shafii, and Hanbali schools originally emphasized giving food.
- The Hanafi school permitted giving the cash equivalent, focusing on the benefit to the poor.
However, it is important to clarify that many scholars within the Shafii school also permitted giving cash when it better fulfills the purpose of zakat al fitr, especially in circumstances where food distribution does not achieve meaningful benefit.
In today’s reality:
- Giving a poor person a bag of rice does not help if they cannot pay for electricity, rent, gas, or utilities needed to cook that rice.
- Cash allows the poor to prioritize their actual needs on Eid day.
- The purpose of zakat al fitr is not symbolic food delivery, but enriching the poor.
For this reason, many contemporary fatwa councils and scholars have affirmed the permissibility and preference of giving cash today, including major institutions across the Muslim world.
5. Relevant Usul Principles
القيمة تقوم مقام العين عند الحاجة أو المصلحة
Monetary value takes the place of the item when there is need or benefit, this principle is explicitly articulated by Hanafi jurists and implicitly applied by others.
تتغير الأحكام بتغير الزمان والمكان
Rulings may change with changes in time and place. This is not a change in Sharia, but a change in application.Food distribution in a pre-modern agrarian society ensured immediate benefit.
In modern urban societies:Imam Al Qarafi has mentioned in this regard: Thus, applying the same ruling without considering changed realities contradicts this usul principle.
When the objective of feeding and enriching the poor is better achieved through money, then money becomes the sounder application of the ruling.
Final Ruling
Zakat al fitr is one sa‘ of staple food, approximately 2.5 to 3 kilograms.
In the current context, the more sound and stronger opinion is to give money, because it better fulfills the purpose of zakat al fitr for the poor today.
For Ramadan 2025, a fair and valid estimate of zakat al fitr is 15 dollars per person. Paying 10 dollars does not reliably meet the value of one sa‘ and should not be considered sufficient.
Zakat al fitr is not merely an individual ritual act; it is a social obligation with a public welfare objective. Scholars acting on behalf of the community must issue rulings that realize the maslahah of the poor, not merely preserve outward forms when those forms fail to achieve the purpose.
And Allah knows best.