Paying Zakah to the Patients' Fund
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Fatwa No. ( 21250 )
Q: The Taiba Medical Resort Charitable Foundation was established in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah under a license from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs No. (5947) dated 28/2/1420 AH. The foundation has a Board of Trustees chaired by His Royal Highness, the Prince of the al-Madinah al-Munawwarah region, with membership comprising a number of prominent figures and notables of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah . The foundation’s income relies on several sources, including: grants, donations, and aid and support from people of good. The foundation has a fund for poor patients, which is used to pay for their treatment. The first project of this foundation was the establishment of the Taiba Medical Resort, which aims to care for recovering and chronic psychiatric patients suffering from mental or emotional disorders, and to care for patients with chronic neurological disorders; such as paralysis, intractable epilepsy, and head injuries, with special care for elderly patients among them. It is a private project that charges the patient a fee equivalent to the cost of the services provided to him, plus 10% for developing the work and raising its standard. The intention behind this fee is not material profit, but rather improving
this service for patients. As for the poor patients who cannot afford to pay the treatment fee, their treatment will be covered by the patients' fund belonging to the foundation. The resort provides its services to the residents of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and to all regions of the Kingdom. It is located on a large plot of land with an area of (62,000 m²) in the Abi 'Ali area, and a five-member committee emerging from the Board of Trustees oversees the implementation. The question requiring a fatwa is: Can we collect zakah funds and establish a special branch for them within the patients' fund, to be spent only on poor patients who are eligible for zakah ? And if this is permissible – given that medical work has not yet begun – is it possible to spend the collected zakah on construction and building, where any amount spent on construction and building becomes a debt owed by the resort to the zakah branch, and after the construction is completed and the resort opens for medical work, this debt is repaid to the zakah branch in the fund?
A: It is not permissible to establish a branch within the aforementioned patients' fund to accept zakah funds; because it is not an official, recognized entity for collecting zakah funds, so it cannot act as an agent for the one paying zakah to deliver his zakah to those entitled to it, nor as an agent for the recipients. Also, there is a fear that the beneficiary of this fund may not be
within the zakah categories specified by the Shari'ah in a manner that is trustworthy and reassuring. Furthermore, this method is prone to delaying the payment of zakah to those entitled to it at the proper time. The principle is that the one paying zakah should hasten to pay his zakah himself or pay it to his trusted agent who is recognized by the Shari'ah, so that he is reassured that it reaches those entitled to it at the proper time, whom Allah mentioned in His saying, the Exalted:[At-Tawbah 9:60]. And whoever has money from the zakah funds, it is not permissible for him to invest it in building charitable projects, nor to borrow from it with the intention of repaying it from the project's revenue; because that is prone to the loss of zakah funds and the delay of their arrival to those entitled to it, which defeats the benefit for which zakah was legislated, since among its objectives is meeting the needs of the poor, paying off the debts of debtors, and their benefiting from it at the proper time. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: The Taiba Medical Resort Charitable Foundation was established in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah under a license from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs No. (5947) dated 28/2/1420 AH. The foundation has a Board of Trustees chaired by His Royal Highness, the Prince of the al-Madinah al-Munawwarah region, with membership comprising a number of prominent figures and notables of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah . The foundation’s income relies on several sources, including: grants, donations, and aid and support from people of good. The foundation has a fund for poor patients, which is used to pay for their treatment. The first project of this foundation was the establishment of the Taiba Medical Resort, which aims to care for recovering and chronic psychiatric patients suffering from mental or emotional disorders, and to care for patients with chronic neurological disorders; such as paralysis, intractable epilepsy, and head injuries, with special care for elderly patients among them. It is a private project that charges the patient a fee equivalent to the cost of the services provided to him, plus 10% for developing the work and raising its standard. The intention behind this fee is not material profit, but rather improving
this service for patients. As for the poor patients who cannot afford to pay the treatment fee, their treatment will be covered by the patients' fund belonging to the foundation. The resort provides its services to the residents of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and to all regions of the Kingdom. It is located on a large plot of land with an area of (62,000 m²) in the Abi 'Ali area, and a five-member committee emerging from the Board of Trustees oversees the implementation. The question requiring a fatwa is: Can we collect zakah funds and establish a special branch for them within the patients' fund, to be spent only on poor patients who are eligible for zakah ? And if this is permissible – given that medical work has not yet begun – is it possible to spend the collected zakah on construction and building, where any amount spent on construction and building becomes a debt owed by the resort to the zakah branch, and after the construction is completed and the resort opens for medical work, this debt is repaid to the zakah branch in the fund?
A: It is not permissible to establish a branch within the aforementioned patients' fund to accept zakah funds; because it is not an official, recognized entity for collecting zakah funds, so it cannot act as an agent for the one paying zakah to deliver his zakah to those entitled to it, nor as an agent for the recipients. Also, there is a fear that the beneficiary of this fund may not be
within the zakah categories specified by the Shari'ah in a manner that is trustworthy and reassuring. Furthermore, this method is prone to delaying the payment of zakah to those entitled to it at the proper time. The principle is that the one paying zakah should hasten to pay his zakah himself or pay it to his trusted agent who is recognized by the Shari'ah, so that he is reassured that it reaches those entitled to it at the proper time, whom Allah mentioned in His saying, the Exalted:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.