Distributing Zakah to a Poor Person Who Does Not Manage Affairs Well
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Q: We were entrusted with distributing a sum of zakah to some poor relatives without specific designation. We prepared a list of the eligible recipients and their allocated amounts. Since some of them may not manage the funds well if given the full amount at once, we decided to give it to them in monthly installments, or according to their needs, within a period of one year only. It so happened that some of them passed away. Should the remaining amount allocated to them be given to their heirs, or should it be spent on another poor person who is still alive? Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
A: It is obligatory to distribute zakah and deliver it to its eligible recipients at the time it becomes obligatory. It is not permissible to delay it or withhold it from those in need. As for an eligible recipient who does not manage affairs well, it is paid to his guardian. If an eligible recipient dies before any of the zakah is paid to him, his heir is not given anything, because the deceased does not own it unless it is paid to him. Therefore, it is paid to a needy person among his heirs or others.
A: It is obligatory to distribute zakah and deliver it to its eligible recipients at the time it becomes obligatory. It is not permissible to delay it or withhold it from those in need. As for an eligible recipient who does not manage affairs well, it is paid to his guardian. If an eligible recipient dies before any of the zakah is paid to him, his heir is not given anything, because the deceased does not own it unless it is paid to him. Therefore, it is paid to a needy person among his heirs or others.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.