Spending zakah, or part of it, on renting a place for prayer
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Fatwa number ( 16173 )
Q: The Muslims in Tokyo do not own a single mosque, and they pray the Friday prayer in a small place as a temporary mosque. As for performing the prayers of the two festivals, 'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-Adha, we were compelled to rent another place, which is a larger one. The rent for this larger place costs a large sum, and the donations of the Muslims are not sufficient to cover it, while we have some remaining zakah funds after distributing them to the needy. In
this situation, is it permissible to use the zakah funds to cover the remaining part of the rent for the place of the festival prayers? Some of us said: it is permissible; because this serves the interests of the Muslims. And some of us said: it is not permissible. What is your opinion? We ask you to explain this matter clearly, relying on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. May Allah reward you with good, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
A: It is not permissible to spend zakah, or part of it, on renting a place for prayer; because that is not among the categories of zakah mentioned in the saying of Allah the Exalted:[At-Tawbah 9:60], and as for the saying of Allah the Exalted: [At-Tawbah 9:60], the intended meaning is jihad in the cause of Allah according to the majority of the scholars. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: The Muslims in Tokyo do not own a single mosque, and they pray the Friday prayer in a small place as a temporary mosque. As for performing the prayers of the two festivals, 'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-Adha, we were compelled to rent another place, which is a larger one. The rent for this larger place costs a large sum, and the donations of the Muslims are not sufficient to cover it, while we have some remaining zakah funds after distributing them to the needy. In
this situation, is it permissible to use the zakah funds to cover the remaining part of the rent for the place of the festival prayers? Some of us said: it is permissible; because this serves the interests of the Muslims. And some of us said: it is not permissible. What is your opinion? We ask you to explain this matter clearly, relying on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. May Allah reward you with good, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
A: It is not permissible to spend zakah, or part of it, on renting a place for prayer; because that is not among the categories of zakah mentioned in the saying of Allah 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
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِfor the cause of Allah
وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.