زكاة الفطر & عيد الفطر : A Linguistic Analysis

Assalamu 'alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

As we are approaching the end of this Blessed month of Ramadhan, we have most probably paid the زكاة الفطر or the الفطرة for ourselves and those in our care (if we are of those on whom it is uncumbant) and looking forward to celebrating عيد الفطر despite at the same having to bid farewell to our honoured guest - a guest who only vists once a year. In bidding farewell our only hope is that we have shown him ikraam (hospitality) in the best way we possibly can, insha Allah.

Having said this, what then do terms : زكاة , فطر & عيد , mean linguistically, that is, and what is the connection between their linguistic meaning and technical shar'i meaning?

As for the term زكاة , it was originally زَكَوَة , just as صلاة was originally صَلَوَة , as evidenced by their plurals: زَكَوَات and صَلَوَات , respectively. In fact, sometimes زكاة and صلاة are written with the waw instead of the alif.

Anyhow, lexically زكاة has one of four meanings: (1) to cleanse, purify, (2) to grow, increase, (3) to improve and make better, , and (4) to praise, with the first 2 meanings being its primary meanings. الزكاة is socalled because it cleanses the one who pays it to those to whom it is due from sin, and purifies him from being contaminated by the filth of not giving those who entitled to his zakah, as stated in the following Qur'anic verse: "خذ من أموالهم صدقة تطهرهم وتزكيهم بها". At the same time it purifies his wealth, and increases it in the Sight of Allah. The latter part is borne out by the follwing du'a of Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): " اللهم أعط منفقا خلفا وأعط ممسكا تلفا" [O Allah, grant the one who gives (in charity) compensation,' and grant the one who withholds damage and loss]. Moreover, it also increases him spriritually and makes him a better and more righteous person in the process.

As for فطر , it means 'to open up something and expose it, or to split open', and it is said that one who who beaks his is called مُفْطِر (muftir) because he opens up his mouth to take in the food. This is also the meaning that appears in the Qur'anic statement: إذا السماء انفطرت (when the sky is split open). The verb "فَطَرَ" also have the meaning of 'making or doing something first'. It is in this connection that Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I did not know the meaning of الفاطر (al-Fatir) until two desert Arabs (bedouins) came up to me to for my judgment concerning a well that was dug. One of them said: أنا فطرتُها (ana fatartuha) meaning, 'I was the first to dig it'. Likewise, the word الفِطْرَة refers to "the manner in which something was created". Thus, human beings were created with a natural disposition towards following the truth (which is Islam), which is termed "الفِطْرَة" (al-fitrah). It is with this meaning that الفطرة is used in the following Qur'anic verse: فأقم وجهك للدين حنيفاً فطرة الله التي فطر الناس عليها لا تبديل لخلق الله ذلك الدين القيم ولكن أكثر الناس لا يعلمون as well as in the following hadith: ما من مولود إلاّ ويولد على الفطرة، ثم أبواه يهودانه أو ينصرانه، أو يمجسانه [there is no child except that he was born with a fitrah (i.e. natural disposition towards Islam), but then it is his parents that made him either into a Jew, Christian, or Magian (fireworshipper)].

So the meaning of الفطر in the genetive construct زكاة الفطر refers to الفطر in the sense of 'opening one's mouth to break his / her fast' , and زكاة الفطر then is the zakah that becomes compulsory on having fasted Ramadhan till the end, at which stage he would have entered the stage of الفطر (breaking fast or ending the fast of Ramadhan by breaking fast), and it is this الفطر together with having fasted Ramadhan or a portion of it that makes the zakah al-fitr compulsory on those who qualify. The purpose of the زكاة الفطر , scholars say, is to 'repair' any damage done to one's sawm, just as sujud al-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) repairs and supplies a missing part in the salah. Subhanallah! all these opportunities that are afforded to us to make the best of this Holy Month, and to make up for lapses and mistakes.

Now, we come to the final word of the trio, namely, عِيْد , which comes from the verb عاد - يعود - عَوْدا which means 'to return or come back', because it always returns from time to time. In the case of عيد الفطر it refers to an event that recurs once every year and is accompanied by celebration, joy and hapiness. In Islam, there are two 'eids: "'eid al-fitr" and "'eid al-adh-ha". The first refers to the celebration on the occasion of the great multitude of people that have been freed from the shackles of Jahannam following having fasted and spent the month of Ramadhan in worship. The second refers to the celebration of the on the occasion of also the great multitude of people that have been freed from the shackles of Jahannam following the Hajj and the time they spent on Arafat making to du'a to Allah with all their hearts. It is the knowledge that Allah has made so much opportunity available for His servants during these two periods of the year to once again redeem themselves, and the knowledge that Allah would have saved so many from the Fire, insha Allah, gives us reason to be joyous and festive on these two great Days, the Days of Feasting and Celebration for everybody.

So coming to the linguistic analysis, عِيْد was originally عِوْد , but because of the kasrah preceding the waw, the latter is forced to change into a yaa'. The plural of عِيْد is أَعْيَاد but is supposed to have been أعْواد because plurals and diminutives normally restore letters to their original forms. This anomaly, however, is explained by the fact that the yaa' in عِيْد never reverts back to the waw, as if it is always with the yaa', and by the fact that أعْواد is already a plural for عُوْد (piece of wood).

In conclusion, we ask Allah to make us of those who have been saved from the Fire, and earned His pleasure during these very auspicious times, Ameen!

والله أعلم