Harun. He said: Abu Ma'shar informed us, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to order it, and it would be distributed—Yazid said: I think this was on the day of Fitr—and he would say: "Make them self-sufficient against the need to roam on this day." The command implies obligation. Whenever one pays it long in advance, it does not achieve the goal of making them self-sufficient on the day of Eid, and the cause of its obligation is the (end of) the fast, as indicated by attributing it to it. The cause of Zakat on wealth is the possession of the nisab (minimum threshold), and the intention is to make the poor person self-sufficient throughout the year; therefore, it is permissible to pay it throughout the year. As for this, its intention is to provide self-sufficiency at a specific time, so it is not permissible to pay it before that time. As for paying it a day or two early, it is permissible, due to what al-Bukhari narrated with his chain of narration from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made Zakat al-Fitr obligatory from Ramadan. He said at the end of it: And they used to give it a day or two before the Fitr. This indicates all of them, so it constitutes a consensus (ijma'). Also, because expediting it by this amount does not undermine its purpose, for it is likely that it—or some of it—remains until the day of Eid, so it suffices (the recipient) from the need to roam and seek (charity) on that day. Furthermore, it is a Zakat, so it is permissible to expedite it before its time of obligation becomes due, just like Zakat on wealth. And Allah knows best.

475 - Issue; He said: (And it is incumbent upon him to pay it on behalf of himself and his dependents when he has a surplus beyond the provision for his day and night.)

A person's dependents (iyal) are those whom he supports, meaning those whose sustenance he provides. Thus, their Fitra is incumbent upon him, just as their maintenance is incumbent upon him, provided he has what he can pay on their behalf, based on the hadith of Ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made Zakat al-Fitr obligatory for every young and old, free and slave, from those whom you provide for. And those whom it is incumbent upon a person