💬 Can Zakat ul Fitr be spent on the Poor (and needy) relatives?

➡️ 8 categories have been mentioned to spend Zakat ul Maal on.

💸 However, our Prophet ﷺ mentioned only 1 category to spend Zakat al Fitr on:

🍚 That is to provide food for the poor and needy.

📚 Allah's Messenger ﷺ enjoined the payment of one Sa' of dates or one Sa' 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. (One Sa' = 3 Kilograms approx.)
✨[Sahih Bukhari 1503]

⚠️ What’s done wrongly:
Madrassahs, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, feel entitled to collect Fitrana from all, arguing that there are poor and needy students in their Madrassahs.

❌This Fitrana money is then used during the entire year but essentially it is not used for the poor and the needy.

🕌 The second mistake is giving the Fitrana to the Imam or Mouzzin (the one who calls the Adhan) of the Masjid. The Imam, Mouzzin or any Khadim (helper) of the Masjid do not deserve Zakat al Fitr and they cannot be paid with it.

❎ Sometimes the salaries of Khadimeen (helpers) of the Masjid do not have much salaries. Their pays are sometimes supplemented with Fitrana and the skins of sacrificial animals. This is Haraam (forbidden) and is not considered as valid.

✅ But if the Imam, Mouzzin or Khadimeen (helpers) of the Masjid are poor and needy, then Zakat al Fitr can be given to them.

📚 The Messenger of Allah ﷺ enjoined Zakat al-Fitr as a purification for the fasting person from idle talk and obscenities, and to feed the poor. Whoever pays it before the (Eid) prayer, it is an accepted Zakah, and whoever pays it after the prayer, it is (ordinary) charity.”
✨[Ibn Majah: 1827]

💰If your relatives are poor and needy, then they can be given Zakat al Fitr, but if they are financially dependent on you, then they cannot be given the Fitrana.

➡️ Whether someone is your relative or not, the main condition to deserve receiving the Fitrana is being poor and needy.