Zakatul-Fitr is one of the things that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, mandated upon all Muslims. Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, made Zakatul-Fitr, one Saa’ (almost 3kg) of dates or one Saa’ of barley, obligatory on the Muslims, slave and free, male and female, young and old. He ordered that it should be given before people go out to the ‘Eid Prayer” [Al-Bukhari]Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him: “During the lifetime of the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, we used to pay one Saa’ of dried dates or of barley, or of cheese, or of raisins.” [Al-Bukhari]Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him explained the wisdom behind paying Zakatul-Fitr when he said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, made Zakatul-Fitr obligatory as a means of purifying the fasting person from idle talk and foul language, and to feed the poor. Whoever pays it before the prayer, it is an accepted Zakaah, and whoever pays it after the prayer, it is just a kind of charity” [Abu Daawood]During Ramadan, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, would continue performing the same acts of worship he used to perform before its arrival, and would actually increase, like in the case of the optional night prayers. The following are more acts of worship he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, used to perform:The recitation of Qur’an and spending in charity: The evidence for this is the narration of Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, in which he stated: “The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was the most generous of all the people, and he used to reach the peak in generosity in the month of Ramadan when Jibreel met him. Jibreel used to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Qur’an, and when he met him, he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, would be more generous than the strong uncontrollable wind (i.e. in readiness and haste to do charitable deeds)” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].This narration proves that he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, used to reach the highest level of generosity during Ramadan. He, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, did not only offer charity in the form of money, but rather he offered his time, knowledge, conveyed all that would benefit the people and guided them to the correct path, strove to help people fulfil their needs and sacrificed himself for the sake of spreading the religion of Allah and making it supreme.Ibn Al-Muneer, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, resembled the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, with the uncontrollable wind, because this type of wind is the one that Allah sends with rain and it spreads the rain on all the lands, fertile and non-fertile and benefits it all. Likewise, the benefit of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, overwhelmed all people.” Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “The Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to review the Qur’an with Jibreel once every year during the month of Ramadan, but on the year he died, he reviewed it twice. He, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to perform I’tikaaf every year in the month of Ramadan for 10 days, and when it was the year of his death, he stayed in I’tikaaf for 20 days”. [Al-Bukhari]Jihaad: The Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam went out during the month of Ramadan to fight Jihaad on more than one occasion when the need arose, like in the case of the battle of Badr and the Conquest of Makkah. When reflecting on the practice of the Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam in worshipping one notices the following: l His continual performance of virtuous deeds. l Increasing his worship during the month of Ramadan over the rest of the months of the year.l The feelings of mercy he harboured towards his nation, as he was always keen to guide and instruct them to that which benefits them the most.l His practical implementation of the commands of Allah.l Not neglecting his duties due to fasting, were he used to pray all night and wake his family to pray. Moreover, he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam fought two major battles during this month as we mentioned.We ask Allah to enable us all to follow into his footsteps and exert our utmost during this blessed month.Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/Expiating fasts on behalf of someone who died before completing RamadanQuestion: My father died on 18th of Ramadan while he was fasting, with 12 days from the month remaining. Is it incumbent upon me to make up for those 12 days on behalf of him? And in the case of it being so, then could I combine the intention of observing the six fasts of Shawwaal and the intention of making up for those days that my father did not fast, provided that I will complete the remaining days after finishing the six fasts of Shawwaal?May Allah reward you.Fatwa: All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. We understand from your question that you ask about making up for the remaining fasts of Ramadan that your father did not catch as he died before witnessing them. Being so, it should be known to you, may Allah bless you, that these mentioned fasts are not due on your father because he died before witnessing them, and a dead person is not addressed by any religious assignments, according to the consensus of Muslims.Consequently, it is impermissible to combine the intention of making up for the days that your father did not fast with the intention of observing the six fasts of Shawwaal.Allah knows best.Source: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs