Ruling on Establishing a Waqf Project with Zakah Funds

Question : The questioner says: Is it permissible to establish a project with zakah funds and make it a waqf (endowment) for the poor?

Answer : Yes, it is not permissible. That is, it is not permissible for a person to establish a project and make its profits and investment for the poor, because the purpose of zakah is to meet the needs of the needy now. If you have, for example, five hundred thousand and you use it to build this project, you have deprived the poor who are currently present, and they are more deserving of it than those who will appear in the future. However, if they are voluntary charities (sadaqah), the matter is broader regarding them. But as for zakah, it is not permissible to establish projects with it to be utilized for the poor in the future. Yes.