Is it permissible to make niyyah (intention) for something given as sadaqah without the intention of zakah or fitrah as zakah or fitrah afterwards?

Dear Brother / Sister,

As it is known, niyyah (intention) is related to the heart; it is not necessary to say it with the tongue. According to Hanafis and Shafiis in particular, intention has to be made while giving zakah or fitrah. For, zakah and fitrah are deeds of worship, and intention is necessary in worship.

When a person gives something to a poor person in the month of Ramadan and does not think whether it is zakah or fitrah can determine his niyyah later. However, there is a condition about it: 

If a person makes his niyyah as fitrah or zakah for something that he has given to a poor person after giving it, the poor person has to own that thing when he makes niyyah as fitrah or zakah for his intention to be valid. (see al-Fiqhul-Islami, II/750-51; Ö N. Bilmen, B. İslam İlmihali, p. 338; İsam; İlmihal, p. 438)

If the poor person has spent it before his niyyah, it is regarded as sadaqah, not as zakah or fitrah.

That is, if a person gives something with the intention of sadaqah first and changes his intention by saying it will be zakah, it is not regarded as zakah. Because here, there is an intention that determines the way the previously given item is to be offered—as an act of worship, even if it is a voluntary (nafilah) one—and one cannot withdraw from it.

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