Withholding Zakah for Spending It on the Treatment of the Sick
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Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. After that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what
A query was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the inquirer, the Secretary General of the Society of Benevolence in Riyadh , and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (3733) and date 9/4/1422 AH. The inquirer asked a question, the text of which is as follows: I submit to Your Eminence that the Benevolent Charity Society in Riyadh has, since its founding by its president, His Royal Highness Prince: Salman ibn Abdulaziz , the Prince of the Riyadh Region, more than forty-seven years ago, been providing direct assistance to the poor and those in their category among the needy, including the sick, the paralyzed, the disabled, the elderly, orphans, widows, and divorcees, as well as caring for their families with comprehensive care that includes regular financial aid and in-kind assistance such as foodstuffs, furniture, clothing, and some appliances, in addition to paying bills for public services and assisting with housing rent. The Society is currently caring for approximately fifteen thousand eligible families from the aforementioned categories in the city of Riyadh and its suburbs, who are registered in the Society’s and its branches’ records after the Society has verified their status and eligibility for assistance. Since the Society is not currently in a position to provide appropriate healthcare for these families, we submit to your attention
Your Eminence the following two cases to know the ruling of the Shari'ah in them and to obtain a fatwa from Your Eminence regarding the permissible case to act upon: The first case: The hospital or commercial clinic treats the poor whom the Society of Benevolence refers to it, and the cost of their treatment is recorded against the hospital’s annual zakah. The second case: The hospital or commercial clinic sets aside a known amount from its annual zakah in the name of the Society of Benevolence, and the Society, on the basis of this, refers some of the poor sick to this hospital to be treated at the expense of this zakah balance. Please issue a ruling, may you be rewarded, may Allah reward you with good.
After the Committee studied the query, it answered that it is obligatory to pay zakah to its recipients in accordance with the characteristics mentioned in the verse of Surah al-Tawbah, and they should spend it on what they need, such as treatment and other necessities. It is not permissible to withhold it with the one who pays zakah to fund the treatment of a sick person from it if he needs treatment, because this restricts it to a specific condition among the conditions of the needy, whereas their needs are many. And Allah the Exalted says: meaning: Pay it to its recipients immediately upon its obligation.
A query was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the inquirer, the Secretary General of the Society of Benevolence in Riyadh , and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (3733) and date 9/4/1422 AH. The inquirer asked a question, the text of which is as follows: I submit to Your Eminence that the Benevolent Charity Society in Riyadh has, since its founding by its president, His Royal Highness Prince: Salman ibn Abdulaziz , the Prince of the Riyadh Region, more than forty-seven years ago, been providing direct assistance to the poor and those in their category among the needy, including the sick, the paralyzed, the disabled, the elderly, orphans, widows, and divorcees, as well as caring for their families with comprehensive care that includes regular financial aid and in-kind assistance such as foodstuffs, furniture, clothing, and some appliances, in addition to paying bills for public services and assisting with housing rent. The Society is currently caring for approximately fifteen thousand eligible families from the aforementioned categories in the city of Riyadh and its suburbs, who are registered in the Society’s and its branches’ records after the Society has verified their status and eligibility for assistance. Since the Society is not currently in a position to provide appropriate healthcare for these families, we submit to your attention
Your Eminence the following two cases to know the ruling of the Shari'ah in them and to obtain a fatwa from Your Eminence regarding the permissible case to act upon: The first case: The hospital or commercial clinic treats the poor whom the Society of Benevolence refers to it, and the cost of their treatment is recorded against the hospital’s annual zakah. The second case: The hospital or commercial clinic sets aside a known amount from its annual zakah in the name of the Society of Benevolence, and the Society, on the basis of this, refers some of the poor sick to this hospital to be treated at the expense of this zakah balance. Please issue a ruling, may you be rewarded, may Allah reward you with good.
After the Committee studied the query, it answered that it is obligatory to pay zakah to its recipients in accordance with the characteristics mentioned in the verse of Surah al-Tawbah, and they should spend it on what they need, such as treatment and other necessities. It is not permissible to withhold it with the one who pays zakah to fund the treatment of a sick person from it if he needs treatment, because this restricts it to a specific condition among the conditions of the needy, whereas their needs are many. And Allah the Exalted says:
And give the zakah.
وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.