Sadaqat-ul-Fitr, also known as Zakat-ul-Fitr, amount has been fixed at Rs 62 per person, Jammu and Kashmir Grand Mufti Nasir-ul lslam announced on Wednesday, asking Muslims to pay it before prayers of Eid-ul-Fitr.
The amount of Sadaqat-ul- Fitr is the same for everyone regardless of their different income brackets.
The Grand Mufti said that Sadaqat-ul-Fitr is a duty required of every Muslim and becomes obligatory to pay it before the beginning of Eid prayer and could be given from beginning of the holy month of Ramadhan.
Mufti Nasir-ul Islam said that it is Wajib (mandatory) upon such a person who owns assets, which equal the value of the Nisab.
“The owner of Nisab in the ruling as regards Sadaqat-al-fitr is such a person who has 7 1/2 Tola gold (93 grams 312 milligrams) or 52 1/2 Tola silver (653 grams 184 milligrams), or any other form of asset. Each person should give away in charity an amount equivalent to 1.760 kilograms of wheat,” he added.
He said the main purpose of Zakat al-Fitr is to provide the poor with a means with which they can celebrate the festival Eid al-Fitr along with the rest of the Muslims.
Quoting Hadith, he said: “Every Muslim is required to pay Zakat-ul-Fitr at the conclusion of the month of Ramadhan as a token of thankfulness to Allah for having enabled him or her to observe the obligatory fast.”
He said that it can be given to the poor and needy but not for the construction purposes of Masjids and any other structures.
“There is no harm for any person who is wealthier and wants to pay more than Rs 62 per person as fixed for this year,” he said. The Grand Mufti appealed people to pay Sadaqat-ul-Fitr earlier so that it reaches to the deserving persons.