Zakatul-Fitr and Other Acts of Worship

Zakatul-Fitr and Other Acts of Worship

Zakatul-Fitr:

Zakatul-Fitr is one of the things that the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) mandated upon all Muslims. Ibn ‘Umar  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  them said: “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) made Zakatul-Fitr, one Saa’ (almost 3kg.) of dates or one Saa’ of barley, obligatory on the Muslims, slave and free, male and female, young and old. He ordered that it should be given before people go out to the ‘Eid Prayer.” [Al-Bukhari]

Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him: “During the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) we used to pay one Saa' of dried dates or of barley, or of cheese, or of raisins.” [Al-Bukhari]

Ibn ‘Abbaas  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him explained the wisdom behind paying Zakatul-Fitr when he said: “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) made Zakatul-Fitr obligatory as a means of purifying the fasting person from idle talk and foul language, and to feed the poor. Whoever pays it before the prayer, it is an accepted Zakah, and whoever pays it after the prayer, it is just a kind of charity.” [Abu Daawood]

Other acts of worship during Ramadan:

During Ramadan, the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) would continue performing the same acts of worship he used to perform before its arrival, and would actually increase, like in the case of the optional night prayers. The following are more acts of worship he  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) used to perform:

The recitation of Quran and spending in charity: The evidence for this is the narration of Ibn ‘Abbaas  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him in which he stated: “The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) was the most generous of all the people, and he used to reach the peak in generosity in the month of Ramadan when Jibreel  may  Allah  exalt  his  mention met him. Jibreel used to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Quran, and when he met him, he  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) would be more generous than the strong uncontrollable wind (i.e. in readiness and haste to do charitable deeds).” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] This narration proves that he  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) used to reach the highest level of generosity during Ramadan. He  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) did not only offer charity in the form of money, but rather he offered his time, knowledge, conveyed all that would benefit the people and guided them to the correct path, strove to help people fulfill their needs and sacrificed himself for the sake of spreading the religion of Allah and making it supreme.

Ibn al-Muneer  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him said: “Ibn ‘Abbaas  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him resembled the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) with the uncontrollable wind, because this type of wind is the one that Allah sends with rain and it spreads the rain on all the lands, fertile and non-fertile and benefits it all. Likewise, the benefit of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) overwhelmed all people.

Abu Hurayrah  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him reported: “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) used to review the Quran with Jibreel once every year during the month of Ramadan, but on the year he died, he reviewed it twice. He  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) used to perform I’tikaaf every year in the month of Ramadan for ten days, and when it was the year of his death, he stayed in I’tikaaf for twenty days.” [Al-Bukhari]

Jihaad: The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) went out during the month of Ramadan to fight Jihaad on more than one occasion when the need arose, like in the case of the battle of Badr and the Conquest of Makkah.

When reflecting on the practice of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) in worshipping one notices the following:

·      His continual performance of virtuous deeds.
·      Increasing his worship during the month of Ramadan over the rest of the months of the year.
·      The feelings of mercy he harbored towards his nation, as he was always keen to guide and instruct them to that which benefits them the most.
·      His practical implementation of the commands of Allah.
·      Not neglecting his duties due to fasting, were he used to pray all night and wake his family to pray. Moreover, he  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) fought two major battles during this month as we mentioned.

We ask Allah to enable us all to follow into his footsteps and exert our utmost during this blessed month.

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