There is a charity that has done a study on the amount of zakat al-fitr that is given annually, by examining the files of the poor and needy, the number of families who are entitled to receive it, and the extent of each family’s need. They also estimate the annual total of zakat al-fitr on the basis of what was collected in previous years. Because when the charity purchases grains, they purchase them in large amounts, at a good price, so it is impossible for them to wait until one or two days before Eid to purchase the grains. Hence they estimate what they will need on the basis of previous experience, and they buy the grains, paying for them with the charity’s funds, and they start to distribute them whilst they are receiving zakaah money from people during that time and afterwards, and if there is a slight discrepancy, more or less, they make it up on the last of the two days, at which point it is easy to correct any discrepancy. What is your opinion on that? Is it permissible to give out zakat al-fitr before receiving it and before the giver has formed the intention to give it?

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

Sadaqat al-fitr
(or zakat al-fitr), like other acts of worship, is not valid without the
proper intention (niyyah) on the part of the giver, because the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Actions are but by
intentions, and each person will have but that which he intended.” Narrated
by al-Bukhaari (1).

Ibn Qudaamah
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is not permissible to give zakaah
without the proper intention, unless the ruler takes it from him by force.
The view of the majority of fuqaha’ is that forming the intention is a
prerequisite to giving zakaah, except for the report from al-Awzaa‘i
according to which he said: The intention (niyyah) is not necessary for
zakaah…

It is
permissible for the intention to precede the action, so long as the interval
between them is brief, as with all other acts of worship; moreover, as it is
permissible to appoint a proxy to give zakaah, stipulating that the
intention must immediately precede the action, with no time lapse in
between, could lead to the act being rendered invalid.

If a person
gives zakaah to his proxy and he – not his proxy – forms the intention
(niyyah), that is acceptable if the interval between his giving the zakaah
and its payment to the recipient is not lengthy.

But if the
interval is lengthy, it is not acceptable, unless he formed the intention at
the time of giving it to his proxy, and his proxy formed the intention at
the time of giving it to the recipient.

If the proxy
formed the intention, but the one who appointed him did not (and the
interval was lengthy), then it is not acceptable, because the intention is a
prerequisite of the action.

End quote from
al-Mughni (2/476).

Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyyah said:

Although zakaah
is a financial obligation, it is a duty that one should do for the sake of
Allah.

Therefore it is
essential to form the intention (niyyah) of doing it, and it is not
acceptable for someone else to do it on a person’s behalf without his
permission.

End quote from
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (7/315).

Al-Mirdaawi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: If a person gives zakaah from his wealth on
behalf of a living person without his permission, it is not valid, but with
his permission it is valid.

End quote from
al-Insaaf (3/198).

Based on that,
if the charity gives sadaqat al-fitr on behalf of someone who has not
appointed it to do so, that is not acceptable.

Secondly:

The charity may
buy grains with its own funds, during Ramadan or beforehand, then sell them
to those who want to give zakat al-fitr, and it may act on behalf of those
donors to give them out one or two days before Eid.

But it is not
permissible for it to give zakaah before it has been appointed to do so,
then take the price of the grains from people after that.

We put a similar
question to Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) and he
replied:

There is nothing
wrong with the centre buying food beforehand, then selling it to those who
want to buy zakat al-fitr, then distributing it at the time prescribed. End
quote.

See the answer
to question no. 71475.

Shaykh Ibn
Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it permissible to be
appointed by those who want to give zakat al-fitr, to receive the zakaah
after the fifteenth of Ramadan, then distribute it one or two days before
Eid? May Allah bless you and keep you.

He replied:
There is nothing wrong with appointing someone to distribute zakat al-fitr
on one’s behalf, which means giving it or its price to the proxy, at the
beginning of the month or halfway through.

It is preferable
for zakat al-fitr to be distributed in the same city or town where the
donors on whose behalf it is given reside, and the proxy should distribute
it in their city or town on the day of Eid, or one or two days beforehand.

And Allah knows
best. End quote from the Shaykh’s website.

http://cms.ibn-jebreen.com/fatwa/home/section/968

And Allah knows
best.