Sadaqah-e-Fitr (Fitrana): Who Pays, When & How Much

What is Sadaqah-e-Fitr?

Sadaqah-e-Fitr — called fitrana in Pakistan — is the charity every able Muslim gives at the end of Ramadan, before the Eid prayer. It purifies the fast from idle talk and mistakes, and it puts food in the hands of the poor on the day of Eid itself, so that nobody has to beg on the day everyone else is celebrating.

It is not the same as Zakat. Zakat is 2.5% of your saved wealth once a year; fitrana is a small fixed amount per person, tied to staple food. Many people who do not own enough for Zakat still owe fitrana, because its threshold is about daily needs, not a year's savings.

Who has to pay fitrana?

In the Hanafi school, fitrana is wajib on every Muslim who owns wealth equal to the nisab — or goods beyond their basic needs worth that much — on the morning of Eid, even if that wealth has not been held for a full year and even if it is not trade goods. This is a wider net than Zakat, which is why more people owe fitrana than owe Zakat.

A person pays for themselves and for their minor children. In the Hanafi school a father also pays on behalf of his young children from his own wealth; adult children and a wife pay their own, though families commonly pay together — what matters is that every person's fitrana reaches the poor before Eid.

Open the fitrana & fidya calculator

How much is fitrana per person?

The measure is food. In Fiqh-e-Hanafi, wheat is given as nisf sa' — half a sa' — and barley, dates, raisins and similar staples as a full sa'. Dar al-Ifta (Minhaj-ul-Quran), in its poster for Pakistan for Ramadan 1447 Hijri / 2026, weighs nisf sa' of wheat flour as 2 kg and a full sa' of the other staples as 4 kg, and prices them as: wheat flour Rs 310, barley Rs 1,180, medium dates Rs 2,400, raisins Rs 4,800, cheese Rs 8,000 and high-quality dates Rs 20,000 per person.

You choose the staple according to your own standard of living: a household that eats well is encouraged to give at the higher levels, not the minimum. Prices move during the year, so if the market rate has changed since the poster was published, use the current price of the same weight — our fitrana calculator lets you edit every rate before you multiply by the number of people.

When should fitrana be paid?

The obligation begins at dawn on the day of Eid al-Fitr, and the fitrana must reach the poor before the Eid prayer — that timing is the point of it, so the poor can share in Eid day itself. Paying in the last days of Ramadan is allowed and is what most families do, so the money can be distributed in time.

If Eid passes and it was not paid, the duty does not disappear: it remains owed and should be paid as soon as possible, though paying late loses the special reward of paying on time.

Who can receive fitrana?

Fitrana goes to the same people who can receive Zakat: the poor and needy who do not themselves own the nisab. It cannot be given to your own parents, grandparents, children or grandchildren, or to your spouse. Giving it to poor relatives outside those lines is allowed and carries a double reward — charity and family ties together.

Work out your own family's total with the fitrana and fidya calculator, then read how fidya differs if someone at home cannot fast at all.