Guidance on Setting Aside Ramadan for Paying Zakah and Distributing It to Those Who Do Not Manage Their Affairs Well
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Many people, may Allah bless you, this is the last question. Many people delay or designate the month of Ramadan for paying zakah and distributing it to the poor, while there are people who need it throughout the year. What is your guidance?
The Shaykh:
If the delay is slight, there is nothing wrong with it. However, if the delay is long and there are people in need of zakah, it is obligatory to expedite it for them and pay it to them. One should not delay it for a long period until Ramadan arrives, because it is a debt in his liability and a right that is obligatory upon him. He should pay it to those who are entitled to it and hasten to do so. Yes.
The questioner:
Yes, but he says: If the person to whom I give the zakah does not handle it well, is it permissible for us to dispose of it and buy for his children what they need from their needs in this world?
The Shaykh:
Yes, if you do not trust him because he spends it on other than its proper purpose, then buy goods with it and give them to him or to his children. There is nothing wrong with that. Yes.
Many people, may Allah bless you, this is the last question. Many people delay or designate the month of Ramadan for paying zakah and distributing it to the poor, while there are people who need it throughout the year. What is your guidance?
The Shaykh:
If the delay is slight, there is nothing wrong with it. However, if the delay is long and there are people in need of zakah, it is obligatory to expedite it for them and pay it to them. One should not delay it for a long period until Ramadan arrives, because it is a debt in his liability and a right that is obligatory upon him. He should pay it to those who are entitled to it and hasten to do so. Yes.
The questioner:
Yes, but he says: If the person to whom I give the zakah does not handle it well, is it permissible for us to dispose of it and buy for his children what they need from their needs in this world?
The Shaykh:
Yes, if you do not trust him because he spends it on other than its proper purpose, then buy goods with it and give them to him or to his children. There is nothing wrong with that. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، برنامج (فتاوى) (167) لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان بتاريخ [1439-08-02] - كبار العلماء — youtube.com (35:53)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.