Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Is it permissible to give out Zakat al-Fitr at the beginning of Ramadan? إخراج زكاة الفطر في بداية رمضان

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.   As to what follows: In response to your question, we say:       What the Sunnah has indicated is that it is permissible to give out Zakat al-Fitr before ‘Eid by a day or two.  Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, “The Prophet (peace be upon him) made incumbent on every male or female, free man or slave, the payment of one Sa' of dates or barley as Sadaqat-ul-Fitr….. People used to give Sadaqat-ul-Fitr (even) a day or two before the ‘Eid” [al-Bukhari (1511) and Muslim (984)]. This indicates that it is permissible to give out Zakat al-Fitr early if there is need for it. My opinion is that it is permissible to give our Zakat al-Fitr at the beginning of Ramadan if there is need for that. This is the opinion of ash-Shafi’ and a number of scholars. However, it is better for a person to give Zakat al-Fitr at the stipulated time, and this is the best thing to do in terms of  freeing the self from obligation.