Zakatul Fitr is a charitable donation of food that must be given before Eid prayer, before the end of the month of Ramadan, on behalf of themselves and their dependants.

The quantity is described by the Prophet (SAW) as one saa’ of food – one saa’ is equivalent to four madd. A madd is the amount that can be scooped up when one puts their hands together.

If we translate this into a monetary value based on the price of a staple food such as flour or rice, it is approximately £4. Therefore the amount due for each person is £4.

Zakat is one of five fundamental concepts in Islam, also referred to as the five pillars of Islam. As such, it is a compulsory act that all Muslims must perform this duty, provided they meet certain conditions. The concept of Zakat is to purify one’s wealth and soul. All those Muslims whose savings meet or exceed Nisaab values are obligated to pay 2.5% of their total yearly savings to the poor and needy and for the welfare of the Muslim community. Zakat is calculated based on total savings during one lunar year. Even items like gold and jewellery fall under Zakat-able items and their worth is taken into account during the calculations.

Sadaqah, is purely voluntary. It can be given at any time, to anyone and it can be of any amount or anything including a material object. As such, there is an enormous amount of flexibility here. Anyone can receive it but the idea is to give Sadaqah to those who truly need it. This is an act done purely to earn blessings of Allah (swt) and to assist other people. 

Lillah is charity which is not binding in nature but is optional. This is Sadaqah Nafilah but is a type that does not have the condition of having to be passed into the possession of a person, as it can be given to institutes (e.g. Masajid, hospitals, schools, orphanages, etc).