Zakat Al-Fitr

1. Its obligation is with sunset of the last day of Ramadhan (i.e., due upon any one alive and responsible at that point in time).
2. Its obligation is upon every Muslim - man, woman and child.
3. It is obligatory upon every Muslim who possesses anything more than food for that night and the next day beyond the basic needs such as housing, clothing, etc.
4. It must be paid for oneself and all of one's dependents.
5. I there is not enough, then a man should start with himself, then his wife, then his mother, then his father, then his children and then in the order of closeness according to inheritance.
6. It is mustahabb (but not obligatory) to pay it on behalf of a foetus as well. (It was narrated as the act of Uthman (ra), but the chain is weak.)
7. It must be paid from the property of an orphan who has property under the care of a guardian.
8. It can be paid on the morning of 'Eid BEFORE the prayer and that may be best as long as it fulfills its objective.
9. If not paid before the prayer it does not fulfill zakat al-fitr and is only sadaqa.
10. Or, one or two days earlier as reported by Ibn Umar about the Companions in sahih narration (Bukhari).
11. Or, in the last third if the narration proves authentic in which it states that the Prophet (sas) ordered the collectors posted in the masjid "in the last third of Ramadhan".
12. The amount is a Saa' (grown man's double handful) of the staple food of the land.
13. It should be given as food except where that will not fulfill the purpose of this zakat.
14. One can give to many and many to one.
15. It is forbidden to purchase anything which one previously gave as zakat or sadaqa.