Sadaqah al Fitr is what is donated to those eligible to receive it, in the form of dates raisins, barley, wheat etc.. or its' equivalent in cash before the "Eid al Fitr Salat on the first of day of the month of Shawwal. This is Wajib (compulsory) on anyone who one is in posession of personal items equal to the value (Nisaab) requiring one to pay Zakat. The current valuation for Nisaab asof July 9th 2015 is $3461.55 Unlike Zakat these items do not have to be in ones's posession for one year but are in ones' posession at the time the Eid salaah approaches.
The great Hanafi jurist Ibn al-Humaam Rahmatullahi 'alaihi mentions,
“Sadaqah al-fitr is compulsory upon every free Muslim.” (Sharh fath al-qadeer 2/285 Dar al-kutub al-ilmiyyah)
All the scholars base their opinion on the following:
Sayyidinaa Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with him) narrates,
‘The Prophet (Sall Allahu 'aliahi wa Aalihi wa sallim) enjoined the payment of one Saa’ of dates or one Saa’ of barley as Zakat-ul-fitr on every Muslim slave or free, male or female, young or old, and he ordered that it be paid before the people went out to offer the ‘Eid prayer.’ (Sahih al-Bukhari 1/409 Altaaf and sons)
Sayyidinaa Abdullah Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) narrates,
“The Prophet (Sall Allahu 'alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim) declared the payment of Sadaqah al-fitr as obligatory; it purifies the fasting person from any indecent act or speech, and is a source of feeding the poor. If one pays Sadaqah al-fitr before the salaah, it is considered an accepted charity, if he pays it after the salaah, it is considered an ordinary charity.” (Abu Dawud p.263 Dar al-kutub al-ilmiyyah)
Who is required to pay Sadaqah al Fitr?
