Directing charity to causes other than those intended by the donors
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Fatwa number ( 19041 )
Q: I asked a brother to donate from his wealth to build a cemetery, and he gave me some money. I do not know whether it was charity or zakah. Another person gave me some money in installments, and I likewise do not know whether it was charity or zakah. If I were to ask the people now, they would not remember. I spent from these funds on: the poor and the needy, meeting the needs of the destitute and those in need, and then I sent the remaining amounts to be spent on completing the construction of a mosque we built, completing the construction of a library attached to the mosque, completing the construction of a Qur'an memorization center attached to the mosque,
a place for preparing the dead for burial, and building a wall around the cemeteries to protect them. The matter became confused for me; I do not know how much money I directed to each of these works. My brother, who supervised the construction of the mosque, the Qur'an memorization center, the library, and the place for preparing the dead, has passed away. The question: What is the ruling on directing these funds, if it is assumed that they are from zakah or some of them are, to the aforementioned purposes? And what should we do? Some simple amounts remain under our disposal for these purposes. Please advise us.
A : The original ruling for these charities is that they are not from zakah. It is obligatory for you to spend them in the field in which you asked the benefactors to donate. It is not permissible to spend these charities in other fields unless with the approval of the donors, if that is possible. If it is not possible to seek their permission, and there is a surplus, this surplus from those charities is to be spent in similar charitable fields. As for what of these funds is from zakah wealth, it is obligatory to spend it in the lawful channels of zakah mentioned in the word of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Tawbah:[At-Tawbah 9:60] the verse. It is not permissible to spend it in general projects; such as building mosques and libraries, walling off cemeteries, and the like.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I asked a brother to donate from his wealth to build a cemetery, and he gave me some money. I do not know whether it was charity or zakah. Another person gave me some money in installments, and I likewise do not know whether it was charity or zakah. If I were to ask the people now, they would not remember. I spent from these funds on: the poor and the needy, meeting the needs of the destitute and those in need, and then I sent the remaining amounts to be spent on completing the construction of a mosque we built, completing the construction of a library attached to the mosque, completing the construction of a Qur'an memorization center attached to the mosque,
a place for preparing the dead for burial, and building a wall around the cemeteries to protect them. The matter became confused for me; I do not know how much money I directed to each of these works. My brother, who supervised the construction of the mosque, the Qur'an memorization center, the library, and the place for preparing the dead, has passed away. The question: What is the ruling on directing these funds, if it is assumed that they are from zakah or some of them are, to the aforementioned purposes? And what should we do? Some simple amounts remain under our disposal for these purposes. Please advise us.
A : The original ruling for these charities is that they are not from zakah. It is obligatory for you to spend them in the field in which you asked the benefactors to donate. It is not permissible to spend these charities in other fields unless with the approval of the donors, if that is possible. If it is not possible to seek their permission, and there is a surplus, this surplus from those charities is to be spent in similar charitable fields. As for what of these funds is from zakah wealth, it is obligatory to spend it in the lawful channels of zakah mentioned in the word of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Tawbah:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِAnd 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.