Disposing of Zakah before delivering it to its recipients by purchasing specific items
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Fatwa No. ( 17293 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the honorable Director of the Cooperative Office for Da'wah, Guidance, and Community Awareness in al-Majma'ah , which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (2598) and date 23/6/1415 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: Given that we receive amounts of zakah to be spent on the needy among the Muslim workers and on new Muslims to help them establish themselves in the faith, it has been observed that when we distribute it to them in cash, they use it to buy luxury items, which may be forbidden. What is your opinion if we were to purchase the foodstuffs and similar necessities they need and distribute them to them from time to time, instead of giving them cash, except when there is a need for cash? Please issue a ruling, may Allah reward you, and may Allah reward you with good.
After the Committee studied the question, it answered as follows: It is obligatory for the one who receives zakah from a person to distribute it on his behalf to distribute the actual zakah he received in the legitimate channels of zakah, and it is not permissible for him to dispose of it by delaying its distribution or by purchasing specific items with it and distributing those items.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the honorable Director of the Cooperative Office for Da'wah, Guidance, and Community Awareness in al-Majma'ah , which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (2598) and date 23/6/1415 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: Given that we receive amounts of zakah to be spent on the needy among the Muslim workers and on new Muslims to help them establish themselves in the faith, it has been observed that when we distribute it to them in cash, they use it to buy luxury items, which may be forbidden. What is your opinion if we were to purchase the foodstuffs and similar necessities they need and distribute them to them from time to time, instead of giving them cash, except when there is a need for cash? Please issue a ruling, may Allah reward you, and may Allah reward you with good.
After the Committee studied the question, it answered as follows: It is obligatory for the one who receives zakah from a person to distribute it on his behalf to distribute the actual zakah he received in the legitimate channels of zakah, and it is not permissible for him to dispose of it by delaying its distribution or by purchasing specific items with it and distributing those items.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.