When is the zakat paid? When is the fitr paid?
Zakat al-fitr becomes obligatory upon those who are able during the dawn of the first day of the Ramadan festival. The recommended time of this zakat is the last part of Ramadan and the first part of Shawwal. It is a Sunnah to distribute it on the Day of Fast breaking between the dawn prayer and the festival prayer.
Zakat al-fitr can be paid at the beginning of Ramadan. If it was not paid in the first days of Ramadan, it becomes obligatory to pay it after the evening prayer of the last day of Ramadan until performing the festival prayer in the neighborhood the person lives.
It is reprehensible (makruh) to distribute it between the holiday prayer and sundown unless one has a legitimate excuse for doing so, such as needing to wait for the arrival of a poor relative or the like. It is forbidden to distribute it after sundown on the Day of Fast breaking unless one has a legitimate excuse, such as the absence of those who are qualified to receive it.
Source: Fiqh1 (According To The Shafi’i School Of Islamic Law), Erkam Publications
