Spending zakah on schools where the children of the donors study
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The first question of fatwa number ( 18147 )
Q1: It is customary in some areas of the state of (Bihar) in India to collect the obligatory zakah on wealth, voluntary charity, the alms given at the end of Ramadan, and the skins of the sacrificial animals in one place, mixing them together and then selling them, and sending a specific amount to some Islamic schools in the country, and spending the rest of their value on primary village schools and intermediate and secondary institutes where the children of the donors themselves study, knowing that these schools and institutes do not provide food for the students, but rather the zakah is spent on paying the teachers' salaries, buying land, and the like. So the question to your permissiveness is: 1- Is it permissible to hand over the alms given at the end of Ramadan to this aforementioned committee, because it is not spent on the poor and needy at the required time in the prescribed manner? 2- Is it valid to spend the zakah and charities on schools and institutes where the children of the donors themselves study, because the donor in such
a case is as if he is the one eating his own charity?
A1 : The zakah on wealth and the alms given at the end of Ramadan must be spent on the poor and the needy and the other categories of zakah recipients mentioned by Allah the Exalted. It is not permissible to spend them on charitable projects such as schools and mosques. Specifically, the alms given at the end of Ramadan must be paid to the poor of the town at the time between the setting of the sun on the night of the festival and going out for the festival prayer. It is permissible to pay it out one or two days before the festival, but it is not permissible to delay paying it to its recipients beyond this time. As for voluntary charity, its scope is broad, so it is permissible to spend it on the poor and on charitable projects, such as schools, mosques, and charitable associations. However, if its owner specifies a particular recipient, he must adhere to that. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q1: It is customary in some areas of the state of (Bihar) in India to collect the obligatory zakah on wealth, voluntary charity, the alms given at the end of Ramadan, and the skins of the sacrificial animals in one place, mixing them together and then selling them, and sending a specific amount to some Islamic schools in the country, and spending the rest of their value on primary village schools and intermediate and secondary institutes where the children of the donors themselves study, knowing that these schools and institutes do not provide food for the students, but rather the zakah is spent on paying the teachers' salaries, buying land, and the like. So the question to your permissiveness is: 1- Is it permissible to hand over the alms given at the end of Ramadan to this aforementioned committee, because it is not spent on the poor and needy at the required time in the prescribed manner? 2- Is it valid to spend the zakah and charities on schools and institutes where the children of the donors themselves study, because the donor in such
a case is as if he is the one eating his own charity?
A1 : The zakah on wealth and the alms given at the end of Ramadan must be spent on the poor and the needy and the other categories of zakah recipients mentioned by Allah the Exalted. It is not permissible to spend them on charitable projects such as schools and mosques. Specifically, the alms given at the end of Ramadan must be paid to the poor of the town at the time between the setting of the sun on the night of the festival and going out for the festival prayer. It is permissible to pay it out one or two days before the festival, but it is not permissible to delay paying it to its recipients beyond this time. As for voluntary charity, its scope is broad, so it is permissible to spend it on the poor and on charitable projects, such as schools, mosques, and charitable associations. However, if its owner specifies a particular recipient, he must adhere to that. 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.