Issue No. 1717- One cannot give fiṭrah to a person who claims to be poor, unless he is sure that he is poor, or at least, can gather from his appearance that he is poor, or if one knows that previously he was poor and that it has not been proved that he is no longer poor.
Issue No. 1718- One should give zakāt of fiṭrah with the intention of proximity to Allah (swt), i.e., complying with the orders of the Almighty Allah, and should have the intention of fiṭrah while giving it.
Issue No. 1719- One should not give zakāt of fiṭrah before the month of Ramadan, and if he does, he should give it again on the day of Eid al-Fitr. Similarly, the obligatory precaution is that he should not give it during the month of Ramadan either. However, if one lends a poor person before Ramadan, and adjusts the loan against fiṭrah, when payment of fiṭrah becomes obligatory, there is no harm in it.
Issue No. 1720- In giving zakāt of fiṭrah, the criterion is not one’s personal food, rather, it is the food which is common in that area or town. Therefore, one who always has rice may give wheat as fiṭrah.
Issue No. 1721- In zakāt of fiṭrah one can give money instead of the commodity. For example, he can calculate and find out how much three kilos of wheat cost and give its value to an indigent person as fiṭrah. However, it should be noted that the criterion is the retail price in the free market not the wholesale price or the official price. In other words, one should pay the amount that if the poor person wants to buy the same commodity from the market with the money which is given to him, he should be able to buy it.
Issue No. 1722- Wheat or any other thing given as fiṭrah, should not be mixed with dust or the like. In case however, the quantity of the thing mixed with it is so small that it may be ignored, there is no problem in it.
Issue No. 1723- Zakāt of fiṭrah cannot be given from a defective commodity. However, if that commodity is reckoned to be the food of the majority of people in that area, there is no problem in it.
Issue No. 1724- If a person has to pay the fiṭrah of a number of persons, it is not necessary for him to pay all from the same commodity. For example, he can give wheat for some of them and barley for others.
Issue No. 1725- One should give fiṭrah on Eid day. Therefore, if a person offers Eid al-Fitr prayer, he should give fiṭrah before Eid prayer, but if he does not offer Eid prayer, he can delay it till ẓuhr time of the day of Eid.
Issue No. 1727- If a person does not give zakāt of fiṭrah when it becomes obligatory, and does not set it aside either, he should give it later, on the basis of recommended precaution, with the intention of fulfilling what is due on him [i.e., without making the intention of adā or qaḍā].
Issue No. 1728- If a person sets aside fiṭrah, he cannot replace it with some other property, rather, he should give the same as fiṭrah.
Issue No. 1729- If the property set apart for fiṭrah perishes, in case a poor person was available but one has neglected in giving fiṭrah, he should give its substitute. In case, a poor person was not available, and he had not neglected in finding one, he is not responsible (to give its substitute).
