Paying the electricity bill for a poor person from zakah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
We take a call from Abu Ahmad, go ahead, my brother Abu Ahmad. Peace be upon you. I am lying down. And upon you be peace. Shaykh, I have two questions, may Allah preserve you. The first question, may Allah preserve you: a man gave me a house on the condition that I pay the electricity for it, and I was unable to pay the electricity bill. Is it permissible for him to pay the electricity bill for me from his zakah? Okay. And he is the owner of the house. The second question.
The presenter:
Wait a moment while the Shaykh answers the question, wait a moment, and turn down the television a little, go ahead, Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
How do you say it? He gave you the house and then conditioned you to pay the electricity costs?
The questioner:
The house is a waqf (endowment) from the men of my mother and father, and I live in it for free on the condition that I pay the electricity for it.
The Shaykh:
Yes, now the question is clear: the house is a waqf and you are living in it.
The questioner:
I pay the electricity for it, but I was unable to pay the electricity bill.
The Shaykh:
Be patient, my brother.
The questioner:
I, the Shaykh, if he says to me, “I will pay the bill for you from my zakah,” I paid it.
The presenter:
All right, thank you.
The Shaykh:
My brother, do not talk too much; we understood the question. I say: if you are poor and unable to pay the bill, then he pays it for you from the zakah. There is no harm in that, yes.
We take a call from Abu Ahmad, go ahead, my brother Abu Ahmad. Peace be upon you. I am lying down. And upon you be peace. Shaykh, I have two questions, may Allah preserve you. The first question, may Allah preserve you: a man gave me a house on the condition that I pay the electricity for it, and I was unable to pay the electricity bill. Is it permissible for him to pay the electricity bill for me from his zakah? Okay. And he is the owner of the house. The second question.
The presenter:
Wait a moment while the Shaykh answers the question, wait a moment, and turn down the television a little, go ahead, Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
How do you say it? He gave you the house and then conditioned you to pay the electricity costs?
The questioner:
The house is a waqf (endowment) from the men of my mother and father, and I live in it for free on the condition that I pay the electricity for it.
The Shaykh:
Yes, now the question is clear: the house is a waqf and you are living in it.
The questioner:
I pay the electricity for it, but I was unable to pay the electricity bill.
The Shaykh:
Be patient, my brother.
The questioner:
I, the Shaykh, if he says to me, “I will pay the bill for you from my zakah,” I paid it.
The presenter:
All right, thank you.
The Shaykh:
My brother, do not talk too much; we understood the question. I say: if you are poor and unable to pay the bill, then he pays it for you from the zakah. There is no harm in that, yes.
Source
قناة «مكة و المدينة»، 13 فتاوى على الهواء - 20 / 09 / 1433هـ _ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (41:27)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.