The Maldives Zakat House has initiated the collection of Zakat al-Fitr in conjunction with the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan. As the moon was sighted on the evening of 28 February, today marks the first day of Ramadan, thereby heralding the beginning of the fasting month.
The Zakat House has confirmed that Zakat al-Fitr contributions will be accepted online starting from 1 Ramadan and will continue until 6 a.m. on 27 Ramadan. Five digital platforms are available for this purpose: the Dhiraagu mobile application and Dhiraagu Pay website, the Ooredoo M-Faisaa application, the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) mobile application, the Bank of Maldives (BML) mobile application, and the FahiPay mobile application, alongside the Bandeyri Pay website. FahiPay and Bandeyri Pay will accept contributions until the last day of Ramadan.
For those without access to online resources, the Zakat House established physical zakat collection counters at the Islamic Centre. These counters will also be operational during the final ten days of Ramadan, which have been designated as government holidays by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu.
From 2 to 20 March, the counters will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 23 to 30 March, they will operate from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, residents of outer islands may submit in-person and cash payments to their respective local councils.
The Zakat House has also announced the nisab (minimum amount for zakat eligibility) for various staple foods. For normal rice, the nisab is set at USD 0.78, Thailand white rice at USD 4.02, and red rice at USD 5.58. For Basmati rice, the nisab is USD 4.80 for standard Basmati rice, USD 6.49 for higher-grade Basmati rice, and USD 8.63 for the highest-grade Basmati rice. The nisab for normal flour is set at USD 0.65, while for Atta flour, it is USD 4.86.