Zakat al-fitr (zakah of breaking the fast) is a fixed amount that has to be paid—by rich and poor alike—by the head of the household for every member of his or her family before the `Eid Prayers at the end of Ramadan. Zakat al-mal (zakah of wealth), on the other hand, can be paid anytime and each individual is responsible to pay his or her own zakah. The amount of zakah is variable according to the person’s wealth. Islam considers the woman as an independent legal entity with rights and duties of her own. Therefore, every Muslim—man or woman, child or adult—whose wealth exceeds the nisab (the minimum zakatable amount) and who has had this amount for a whole lunar year must pay zakat al-mal.