Collecting Zakat al-Fitr in the Mosque and Giving It to Those Who Ask

Question:
The Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, collects the zakat al-fitr of the neighborhood in the mosque, and I distribute it to the needy. However, some people I do not know object and ask me to give them some of this zakat al-fitr. This puts me in an awkward position because I do not know their circumstances. What should I do? Should I give it to them?

Answer:
This practice of collecting the zakat al-fitr in the mosque and piling it up is not recommended. Each person should take care of his own zakat al-fitr and pay it himself. He should give it to the poor.
But if they did it, if they collected it, that is permissible on the condition that it is paid out during the time of payment. It must not be advanced before the time of permissibility, nor delayed beyond the time of payment. Rather, it is paid out during the period from two days before the festival until the festival prayer. If you can distribute it during this period, from two days before the festival until the festival prayer, there is no harm. But if you cannot advance it before the time nor delay it beyond the time, and you say, "I cannot do anything but this," then it is said to you: No, this does not work; it is not permissible.
As for your saying that you do not know the one who asks. The one who asks is to be examined. As long as he is asking and you do not know that he is rich, give it to him. If he asks you and you do not know that he is rich, then you give it to him from it. And the responsibility is on you, not on him. The questioner is the one who is deprived. This is a questioner. And you do not know that he is rich. So give it to him from it. Yes.