In the house

Zakat al-Fitr vs Zakat al-Mal: who pays, how much and when

Updated 9 November 2026

Ramadan brings two kinds of giving that are easily confused. One is small and tied to a date, and the other is a percentage of what you hold. This page sets them side by side, with the published amounts and the places where scholars differ.

What is Zakat al-Fitr?

It is a payment owed for each person, including children and dependants, at the end of Ramadan. The basis is the report from Ibn Abbas, in Abu Dawud, that the Prophet made it obligatory as a purification for the fasting person. The amount is one sa' of a staple food per person. Most scholars say it falls on anyone who has food beyond what they need for a day and a night, while the Hanafi school ties it to owning wealth above nisab beyond one's needs. The Hanafi school and others also discuss who pays for a newborn or a guest, so ask the scholar you follow if your household is not simple.

How much is it, and what can I pay?

The Fiqh Council of North America's guidance of 7 February 2026 priced one sa' of rice at about $4.75 (5.40 lb), wheat flour at about $3.56 (4.00 lb) and dates at about $18.29 (4.63 lb), and encouraged Muslims to give $10 per person to be safe. Those are US prices at the time of its calculation. The 2027 figures will be published nearer Ramadan 1448, which is expected to begin on 8 February 2027 on the calendars we checked, though some sources give 7 February and the start depends on moon sighting.

Two points differ between schools. The weight of a sa' is disputed, roughly 2 to 3.3 kg depending on the school and the food. And the Hanafi school permits paying the cash value, while the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools traditionally require food, though many organisations now collect cash on behalf of givers. Another charity, Muslim Hands USA, has a blog post suggesting a range of $10 to $15, which we could not open in full, so we do not state it as its rule.

When must it be paid?

Before the Eid prayer. Bukhari 1503 records the order to pay it before people go out to the Eid prayer, and Bukhari 1511 reports Ibn Umar giving it a day or two before Eid. How early is allowed differs. The Hanafi school permits payment even before Ramadan, the Shafi'i school from the start of Ramadan, and the Maliki and Hanbali schools, in the well-known view, one or two days before Eid. If it is paid after the prayer, the report in Abu Dawud calls it ordinary charity, but the majority view is that the obligation remains as a debt and must still be paid, with a fault for delay. It does not simply lapse.

What is Zakat al-Mal?

It is zakat on wealth: 2.5 percent, or one part in forty, of savings, gold, silver, trade stock and other zakatable assets above nisab once a lunar year has passed. It is an individual duty, so each person with qualifying wealth calculates it on their own wealth, and a married couple each work out their own. It can be paid at any time after the year is complete. See the nisab threshold, what is hawl, and zakat on rental income. Our page on zakat and sadaqah covers the difference from voluntary giving.