482 - Issue: He said: (Whoever possesses what is sufficient to pay zakat al-fitr, but owes a debt equal to it, is required to pay it, unless he is being pressed for payment of the debt, in which case he must settle the debt and is not liable for zakat.)

The debt does not prevent the [obligation of] fitra because its obligation is more emphatic, evidenced by the fact that it is required of the poor, it encompasses every Muslim who is able to pay it, and one is required to bear it on behalf of those whose maintenance is upon others. It is not attached to a specific amount of wealth, so it proceeds in the manner of maintenance. Furthermore, zakat on wealth becomes obligatory upon ownership, and debt affects ownership, so it affects that zakat. However, this [fitra] is obligatory upon the person (the body), and debt does not affect the person. Fitra lapses when one is being pressed for the debt, due to the necessity of paying it upon being pressed, the emphasis placed upon it as being the right of a specific human being which does not lapse due to insolvency, and its priority in terms of cause and precedence in obligation, such that one is sinful for delaying it; indeed, it takes precedence over everything other than fitra, even if one is not being pressed for it, because the effect of being pressed is only regarding the obligation to perform [the payment] and the prohibition of delay.

Section: If the person upon whom fitra was obligatory dies before performing it, it is to be paid from his wealth. If he owes a debt and has wealth sufficient for both, they are both paid. If he does not have enough for both, it is divided between the debt and the charity proportionately. Ahmad explicitly stated regarding zakat on wealth that the estate is divided between them; it is the same here. If he owes zakat on wealth, zakat al-fitr, and a debt, then zakat al-fitr and zakat on wealth are like a single thing due to the unity of their recipient, so they share the burden alongside the debt. The principle behind this is that when the right of Allah, the Glorified, and the right of a human being attach to a single source, whether they are in the dhimma (liability) or the actual property, they are equal in terms of fulfillment.