Is it permissible to distribute zakat al-fitr to charitable associations?
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Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency the Minister of Social Affairs, in his letter number (42239) dated 25/4/1430 AH, which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (655) and date 1/5/1430 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: Given that zakat al-fitr in the blessed month of Ramadan represents the rights
of the poor Muslims over their rich, and what this religion represents in the nobility of its message, which calls for love, mercy, and compassion among all Muslims and the people of this country in particular, and given that zakat al-fitr is usually paid to charitable associations during a short period starting from the night of the blessed 'Id al-Fitr until before dawn, and this period is considered too short for the charitable associations to receive these zakahs, as they are unable to distribute them to the needy before the 'Id prayer. And given the shortness of the period between receiving zakat al-fitr and its distribution by the charitable associations to the needy, and the many negatives resulting from this, the most important of which is that the charitable associations do not accept zakat al-fitr except to the extent they can distribute before the 'Id prayer, and also that the one paying the zakah, due to the tightness of time, may rush to pay it out himself and may give it to those who are not in need. Therefore, I hope that Your Eminence (may Allah preserve you) will consider issuing a fatwa permitting charitable associations the possibility of delaying the distribution of zakat al-fitr for one month so that those associations can receive the zakah from citizens before the 'Id prayer with ease and simplicity, and then it is distributed to those entitled to it with sufficient time, which leads to ensuring it reaches its rightful recipients.
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it answered: That charitable associations
are like an agent for the one paying the zakah, and the associations are not allowed to take from zakat al-fitr except to the extent they can spend on the poor before the 'Id prayer, and it is obligatory for them to distribute zakat al-fitr to those entitled to it before the 'Id prayer, and it is not permissible to delay it beyond that, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered its performance for the poor before the 'Id prayer, as narrated by 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 1609Hasan (Al-Albani) . It was narrated by Abu Dawud , and Ibn Majah , and al-Daraqutni , and al-Hakim . It is permissible to pay it out one or two days before the day of 'Id, as narrated by 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 675Sahih (Darussalam) And he said at the end: Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 4:979 . It was narrated by al-Bukhari . And it is not permissible to delay its distribution after the 'Id prayer.
of the poor Muslims over their rich, and what this religion represents in the nobility of its message, which calls for love, mercy, and compassion among all Muslims and the people of this country in particular, and given that zakat al-fitr is usually paid to charitable associations during a short period starting from the night of the blessed 'Id al-Fitr until before dawn, and this period is considered too short for the charitable associations to receive these zakahs, as they are unable to distribute them to the needy before the 'Id prayer. And given the shortness of the period between receiving zakat al-fitr and its distribution by the charitable associations to the needy, and the many negatives resulting from this, the most important of which is that the charitable associations do not accept zakat al-fitr except to the extent they can distribute before the 'Id prayer, and also that the one paying the zakah, due to the tightness of time, may rush to pay it out himself and may give it to those who are not in need. Therefore, I hope that Your Eminence (may Allah preserve you) will consider issuing a fatwa permitting charitable associations the possibility of delaying the distribution of zakat al-fitr for one month so that those associations can receive the zakah from citizens before the 'Id prayer with ease and simplicity, and then it is distributed to those entitled to it with sufficient time, which leads to ensuring it reaches its rightful recipients.
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it answered: That charitable associations
are like an agent for the one paying the zakah, and the associations are not allowed to take from zakat al-fitr except to the extent they can spend on the poor before the 'Id prayer, and it is obligatory for them to distribute zakat al-fitr to those entitled to it before the 'Id prayer, and it is not permissible to delay it beyond that, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered its performance for the poor before the 'Id prayer, as narrated by 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If anyone pays it before the prayer (of 'Id), it will be accepted as zakat. If anyone pays it after the prayer, that will be a sadaqah like other sadaqahs (alms).
من أداها قبل الصلاة فهي زكاة مقبولة ، ومن أداها بعد الصلاة فهي صدقة من الصدقاتThe Messenger of Allah made Sadaqatul-Fitr an obligation
فرض رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - صدقة الفطر في رمضانAnd they used to give it one or two days before the fitr
وكانوا يعطون قبل الفطر بيوم أو يومين
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.