Ramadan charity guide
Plan your Ramadan charity
A little planning before the month starts means your giving keeps pace with your fasting, right up to Eid.
Ramadan charity in one plan
Settle what is owed first: zakat if your year ends now, zakat al-fitr before Eid, and fidya for fasts you cannot keep or make up (Quran 2:184). Then spread sadaqah over the month, with a share for the last ten nights.
One of those nights, Laylat al-Qadr, is better than a thousand months (Quran 97:3).
See the last 10 nights of Ramadan 2027 and how to spread your giving across them.
Four kinds of Ramadan charity
Zakat
One-fortieth of wealth above the nisab held for a lunar year (Sahih al-Bukhari 1454).
Zakat al-fitr
For each person, given before the Eid prayer (Sahih al-Bukhari 1503).
Fidya
Feeding a poor person for each fast that cannot be made up (Quran 2:184).
Sadaqah
Any amount: even a date’s worth from honest earnings is grown by Allah (Sahih al-Bukhari 1410).
Plan your Ramadan charity in four steps
- Add up what is owed: zakat, zakat al-fitr and any fidya.
- Choose where it goes and check the Charity Commission register.
- Set a daily amount for sadaqah.
- Mark the last ten nights with the times from Muslims Around the World.
Questions about Ramadan charity
When is zakat al-fitr due in Ramadan 2027?
Before the Eid prayer, expected on Tuesday 9 March 2027 by the Umm al-Qura calendar (Sahih al-Bukhari 1509). Hand it over a few days earlier.
Can my Ramadan charity go to people who are not Muslim?
Sadaqah can go to anyone in need: Asma’ was told to keep good ties with her mother, who was not Muslim (Sahih al-Bukhari 2620). Zakat has its own rules, so ask a scholar about it.
How do I choose a charity for Ramadan?
Pick causes you care about, then compare organisations on their public records. DonateOpenly’s ranking of Muslim charities does that for UK charities with £5m+ a year.