The Ruling on Holding a Charity Dinner Among Female Students to Collect Donations

The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, as we have become accustomed in the previous sessions of this night, we receive questions and try to answer them with what Allah has made easy for us. If it is correct, the merit is from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and if it is wrong, we ask Allah for forgiveness.

The presenter:
, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon His servant and our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, O brothers, we present your questions to His Eminence Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan. This is the third meeting of the month of Allah, Muharram, on the night of the eighteenth of the year one thousand four hundred and twenty-three.

The questioner:
This questioner, O His Eminence, says — or rather, this is a female questioner who says: We are a group of female students, and we want to hold what is called a charity dinner. The format is that each one brings a type of food, which is then sold to the students, and the proceeds are spent on those in need. The reason for not donating money directly is that some students cannot afford to donate money, but they are able to cook food to be sold. What is the ruling on this action?

The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This question has been asked before, and the answer was that this is not appropriate. Whoever wants to do good, the door to good is open. If he wants to give charity, he gives charity without this method. And whoever cannot do this is not obligated to do so. If, as the questioner mentioned, she cannot give charity, then she is not obligated to do so. . And this food that you cook and give as charity, if you gave it as charity without cooking it — if you gave the food, the wheat or the rice — you gave it to those in need, and they cook it and benefit from it.
As for the matter of these dinners and these gatherings of women, and these exaggerations in this work, all of these are burdens and this. Also, there is difficulty in doing good. If he wants to give charity, the door to good is made easy. He donates by giving directly to those in need. Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you