Giving the poor from zakah to purchase a residence for them
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Fatwa number ( 15853 )
Q: Your Eminence: There is a man who moved from one region to another, and he took with him companions from the city he resided in to the city he moved to. This man has been given by Allah abundant wealth, and Allah has given him
the ability, with a satisfied soul, to pay zakah, as well as to give charity from his own wealth seeking the Face of Allah. His zakah is estimated at millions of riyals. The people he wished to move with him from their city to the city he moved to have salaries that do not exceed two thousand riyals, and most of them are three thousand riyals. They have families and children, and they have no income other than this salary. They have many obligations regarding their income, so the salary of one person sometimes does not cover a single guest; because they are from tribes and are shy, when a guest comes to them according to their customs, they are compelled to honor him, which keeps them constantly in a difficult position. This man who moved them with him to the city he moved to helps them pay their housing rents. They approached him explaining their dire circumstances, the large number of their children, and their lack of ownership of residences that would be a support for their families and children after their death. They asked him to help them purchase a residence for each person to cover their circumstances, and thus be a support for their worldly affairs. The question, Your Eminence: Is it permissible for this man to help them from zakah to purchase a residence for each of them? Even if he does so, what Allah has given him will not prevent this zakah from reaching the other poor people; because, as mentioned before, it is estimated in the millions, and it will include the eligible recipients. These people are estimated at approximately twelve persons, and perhaps
their assistance would be over two years, meaning: from the zakah of two years, and only once, in an amount that secures their situation and makes them self-sufficient. Therefore, I ask Your Eminence to kindly inform me in writing about what the Shari'ah dictates regarding the question, as well as helping them in the future with what assists in their livelihood from zakah; due to their low income and the high prices that are not hidden from Your Eminence. The matter does not fall under independent legal reasoning, but in my opinion, Allah legislated zakah to give the poor what makes them self-sufficient in a way that does not leave them asking for it in the coming years. It may be an opening of good for the increase of their wealth, and then they pay zakah. That is to say, if a person has an obligatory one million riyals of zakah, distributing it among fifty people to make them self-sufficient is better than distributing it among a hundred people who gain nothing from it. Therefore, I ask Your Eminence to kindly inform me in writing whether it is permissible in the Shari'ah to help them by purchasing residences for them from zakah, and as mentioned, their assistance will not prevent the other poor people who are given to every year due to its abundance. Therefore, I am awaiting Your Eminence's answer.
A: If the matter is as mentioned, it is permissible for the man to help the mentioned individuals, if they are poor, from zakah to purchase a residence for them. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: Your Eminence: There is a man who moved from one region to another, and he took with him companions from the city he resided in to the city he moved to. This man has been given by Allah abundant wealth, and Allah has given him
the ability, with a satisfied soul, to pay zakah, as well as to give charity from his own wealth seeking the Face of Allah. His zakah is estimated at millions of riyals. The people he wished to move with him from their city to the city he moved to have salaries that do not exceed two thousand riyals, and most of them are three thousand riyals. They have families and children, and they have no income other than this salary. They have many obligations regarding their income, so the salary of one person sometimes does not cover a single guest; because they are from tribes and are shy, when a guest comes to them according to their customs, they are compelled to honor him, which keeps them constantly in a difficult position. This man who moved them with him to the city he moved to helps them pay their housing rents. They approached him explaining their dire circumstances, the large number of their children, and their lack of ownership of residences that would be a support for their families and children after their death. They asked him to help them purchase a residence for each person to cover their circumstances, and thus be a support for their worldly affairs. The question, Your Eminence: Is it permissible for this man to help them from zakah to purchase a residence for each of them? Even if he does so, what Allah has given him will not prevent this zakah from reaching the other poor people; because, as mentioned before, it is estimated in the millions, and it will include the eligible recipients. These people are estimated at approximately twelve persons, and perhaps
their assistance would be over two years, meaning: from the zakah of two years, and only once, in an amount that secures their situation and makes them self-sufficient. Therefore, I ask Your Eminence to kindly inform me in writing about what the Shari'ah dictates regarding the question, as well as helping them in the future with what assists in their livelihood from zakah; due to their low income and the high prices that are not hidden from Your Eminence. The matter does not fall under independent legal reasoning, but in my opinion, Allah legislated zakah to give the poor what makes them self-sufficient in a way that does not leave them asking for it in the coming years. It may be an opening of good for the increase of their wealth, and then they pay zakah. That is to say, if a person has an obligatory one million riyals of zakah, distributing it among fifty people to make them self-sufficient is better than distributing it among a hundred people who gain nothing from it. Therefore, I ask Your Eminence to kindly inform me in writing whether it is permissible in the Shari'ah to help them by purchasing residences for them from zakah, and as mentioned, their assistance will not prevent the other poor people who are given to every year due to its abundance. Therefore, I am awaiting Your Eminence's answer.
A: If the matter is as mentioned, it is permissible for the man to help the mentioned individuals, if they are poor, from zakah to purchase a residence for them. 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.