Zakat Al Fitr amount fixed at Dh20

dubai — The Fatwa centre of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments has fixed Dh20 as the amount for Zakat Al Fitr this Ramadan.

In an official fatwa posted on its website, the centre said the amount of Zakat Al Fitr can be given to the official bodies concerned like the Emirates Red Crescent.

Islamic scholar Dr Sheikh Mohammed Ashmawy said the set amount — four normal handfuls of dates or barley as per Sunnah — is found to weigh 2kg and valued at Dh20. It is to be paid by every Muslim before the Eid prayer.

Another scholar Dr Mahmoud Saleh said Zakat Al Fitr — which is mandatory on every Muslim and his dependant — may be given any time before the Eid prayer. “Nonetheless, it is advisable to be given one or two days before Eid. It may be accepted after the Eid prayer only if there is a valid reason for the delay. Without a valid reason, it will be considered as normal charity,” said Dr Saleh.

Zakat Al Fitr may also be sent abroad. “One may send it to the needy or relatives in his/her home country or another country’s residents in dire need because of starvation, calamity or war,” he said.

One may send it to the needy or relatives in his/her home country or another country’s residents in dire need.”

Dr Mahmoud Saleh, scholar