The ruling on giving zakah to more than one person and the ruling on giving goods in place of money?
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The questioner:
In his final question, he asks: Is it permissible for me to give the zakah to more than one individual, meaning the single amount of zakah? And is it permissible for me to buy items with the value of the zakah that the needy Muslims require, and then distribute them to them?
The Shaykh:
As for his question, "Is it permissible to give the zakah to more than one individual?" it is not clear. If he means that he distributes the single amount among more than one individual, then it is permissible. But if he means that he gives it to one person and then takes it back and gives it to another person, then it is not permissible. This is because once the eligible recipient is given the zakah, he owns it, and it is not permissible to take it from him. Yes.
The questioner:
And buying necessities for the poor.
The Shaykh:
As for buying necessities, which is called giving goods in place of the zakah, this is permissible only if it is in the interest of the recipient. If it is in the interest of the recipient, it is permissible to give him goods in place of the zakah, meaning to buy goods with it and give them to him. But if this is not in his interest, the zakah is paid to him in money, and he disposes of it according to his interest and his needs. Yes.
In his final question, he asks: Is it permissible for me to give the zakah to more than one individual, meaning the single amount of zakah? And is it permissible for me to buy items with the value of the zakah that the needy Muslims require, and then distribute them to them?
The Shaykh:
As for his question, "Is it permissible to give the zakah to more than one individual?" it is not clear. If he means that he distributes the single amount among more than one individual, then it is permissible. But if he means that he gives it to one person and then takes it back and gives it to another person, then it is not permissible. This is because once the eligible recipient is given the zakah, he owns it, and it is not permissible to take it from him. Yes.
The questioner:
And buying necessities for the poor.
The Shaykh:
As for buying necessities, which is called giving goods in place of the zakah, this is permissible only if it is in the interest of the recipient. If it is in the interest of the recipient, it is permissible to give him goods in place of the zakah, meaning to buy goods with it and give them to him. But if this is not in his interest, the zakah is paid to him in money, and he disposes of it according to his interest and his needs. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5673- حكم إعطاء الزكاة لأكثر من شخص وحكم إخراج العروض بدلاً عن المال ؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.