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The Philosophy of Fitra |
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| PHILOSOPHY OF FITRA Fitra is obligatory on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr. Sadqa or Fitra becomes obligatory only when the Shawwal moon is sighted. Before that Fitra is not obligatory. In case anyone has kept aside Fitra before or during Ramadhan and has not given it to anyone with intention he should give it after the sighting of the moon. In case if he has already made intention of Fitra before the sighing then he should remove it again after the sighting of moon. But those who had kept aside Fitra during the Holy month with the intention that they would give it away only after sighting the Shawwal moon then it is fine. But it is not allowed to give the Fitra to the poor and then make the intention later. Fitra should be given to poor who is eligible for Zakat. The criterion for Zakat-e-Fitra is that it should be given only to a religious mendicant preferably a Shia Ithnashari Momin. If the Fitra is given to a person who does not follow Shariah than that is considered as null and void. It is Sadqa-e-Wajibat (Obligatory Sadqa) and Allah says in the Quran: O prophet take Sadqa (charity) from your believerss earnings to purify them. The moment we hear the word Sadqa an image of a beggar appears before our eyes. We feel we are obliging a beggar. The philosophy of Sadqa in Quran is different. It doesnt relate Sadqa to a beggar. Sadqa, Zakat and Khums are not given with the intention of running the economy of Islam. Religion does not want to form a society on the basis of Sadqa. Religion also does want to keep everyone at the helm of Sadqa or Zakat. The idea is not have two-class system, where one offers Sadqa and the other to receive it. No this is what Satan wants. It should never come to your mind that by giving Sadqa we contribute to the economy of the poor in Islam. Allah is the creator and also the sustainer. Even if we dont offer them anything Allah will provide them the way to sustain. Allah has given you food; he has also provided miracles a way to sustain, which is out of bounds from our hands. What we call wealth, He provides wealth to wealth. Whenever you give alms do not think big of your self or think that you are their sustainers. Take them as your duty and consider that you need them and they are very much related to you. Sadqa is for purification of your soul. On the day of Eid it is recommended that you take a bath, cleanse yourself, wear clean clothes and apply perfume. But our religion does not emphasize on your clothes or how you look and smell. Islam wants to blow soul into that body. It wants to show that the soul behind is responsible for the purification of your body. How do you purify your soul? Certainly the soul cannot be washed by water. Things like, sin, ignorance, and immaturity taint the soul. But the biggest flaw in a man is greed, misery and ill feelings towards others. Allah has made arrangements for the purification of the soul. Like water that purifies your body, Sadqa is just one of the things to purify your soul. Fitra is something that you give is what you eat at home. Some people have fixed ideas about Fitra. They offer raisins and barley as Fitra and at some places the amount has been fixed to $6. You shouldnt eat food like chicken and other exotic things daily and then give meagre things in Fitra. What you eat everyday is what you have to give to the poor and the needy, that should be three kgs per person. People normally blame the clerics for the increase in Fitra. But its not the clerics who fix it, it has been fixed by Allah himself. Why blame the cleric? Even he has to pay. You have shell out so much that your soul is purified. When you purify your body you dont save water there. You use it freely. The same logic should be applied for the purification of soul. The more you give the more you will purify your soul. For example if you take a bath and the water flows into someones farm you are not doing him a favour. You are bathing for your own good and not for his farm. He is just getting some advantage out of that act. Same goes for Fitra. You are not doing a favour on anyone by giving Fitra. Its just that you are cleaning your soul and someone else is just taking advantage of your soul cleaning procedure. - Hujjatul Islam Sayyid
Jawwad Naqvi
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