Paying money to an agent to purchase the alms given at the end of Ramadan

Question:
Is money given to the agent, or is a sample of it given?

Answer:
It is permissible to appoint an agent to purchase the alms given at the end of Ramadan on one’s behalf and pay it out at the designated time. This is permissible. However, if people are lax, as is the case nowadays, and they give money to associations or to those who accept agency for large quantities, such that the agent or the association cannot execute these alms at the proper time and in the type required by the Shari'ah, then it is not permissible to give it to them. If one trusts the agent that he will purchase it, measure it, and pay it out at the proper time, then it is permissible to give him money. But if one does not trust him, or does not know his condition or what he does, then it is not permissible for him to do so, because this is a trust in his charge. As we mentioned, it is limited by a specific time, a specific type of alms, and a specific recipient, namely the poor. Yes.