Holding a funeral gathering for the deceased
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 9508 )
Q: I had approximately 5,000 Egyptian pounds, which belonged to my late mother (may Allah have mercy on her), intended for her investment. She passed away to the mercy of Allah on August 2, 1983. Approximately 2,000 Egyptian pounds were spent on the funeral gathering and as charity for her soul for the sake of Allah.
So, the amount remaining for her—meaning what belongs to the heirs—was 3,000 Egyptian pounds. This amount stayed with me for a full year until July 12, 1984, because it was invested in a project, and this amount earned 545 Egyptian pounds in that year. After that, I distributed the 3,000 Egyptian pounds among all the heirs. As for the profit of 545 Egyptian pounds, I did not distribute it to the heirs; I thought about distributing it to the poor, but I have not done so yet, and the heirs are aware of this. One of my sisters gave me 200 Egyptian pounds to distribute for the sake of Allah, or as a donation to a mosque as charity on behalf of my mother. I kept it and did not spend it for this purpose. My share of my mother’s inheritance was 300 Egyptian pounds. My zakah share for the year 1983 to 1984, i.e., a full year, was 1,100 Egyptian pounds, which I did not pay out. I intended to pay 611 Egyptian pounds to the poor as charity on behalf of my late mother, but I did not pay it out. Four people from the family gave me 40 Egyptian pounds for the sake of Allah as charity on behalf of my late mother, which I did not pay out. Two days before my mother’s death, she told me: “I owe 80 Egyptian pounds in zakah,” and asked me to pay this amount, but I did not. The purpose of not paying out these amounts was that I thought of the following: to gather the aforementioned amounts, which are: 545 + 200 + 300 +
1100 + 611 + 40 + 80, making a total of 2,876 Egyptian pounds. I actually deposited this in an investment project that complies with Islamic Sharia in Egypt on July 22, 1984, with the aim of distributing the return from this amount annually to the poor, on the condition that this amount in the end—i.e., the deposited capital—be for the sake of Allah the Exalted. I appointed a Muslim brother with me in this matter, and he has the right to spend and distribute to the poor in my absence. My goal is also to work on increasing the capital from Muslim brothers through charity or their zakah so that the capital increases, and consequently the return increases, and the return is distributed to the greatest number of poor people. The intention behind all of this is good, if Allah wills. The question that arises now is: Am I correct, and should I continue investing the amount, which is 2,876 Egyptian pounds, and work on increasing the capital from Muslim brothers, whether from their charity or their zakah, and distribute the return to the poor, so that the capital in the end is for the sake of Allah? Or should I distribute the amount, which is 2,876 Egyptian pounds, to the poor and not continue with this project? We ask your eminence to reply to us quickly by mail so that we do not continue in error if there is any error.
A: First: Holding funeral gatherings for the deceased is not prescribed, and therefore it is obligatory to return
the money spent on the funeral gathering to the heirs. Second: The lawful profits in the investment company belong to the heirs, so they must be distributed to them unless they waive their right to them. Third: The zakah obligatory upon you for the year 1983, and the zakah obligatory upon your mother, must be paid to those entitled to it mentioned in the saying of Allah the Exalted:[At-Tawbah 9:60] the verse, as well as all the charities. Nothing of the poor’s right should be invested, but rather it should be paid to them. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Q: I had approximately 5,000 Egyptian pounds, which belonged to my late mother (may Allah have mercy on her), intended for her investment. She passed away to the mercy of Allah on August 2, 1983. Approximately 2,000 Egyptian pounds were spent on the funeral gathering and as charity for her soul for the sake of Allah.
So, the amount remaining for her—meaning what belongs to the heirs—was 3,000 Egyptian pounds. This amount stayed with me for a full year until July 12, 1984, because it was invested in a project, and this amount earned 545 Egyptian pounds in that year. After that, I distributed the 3,000 Egyptian pounds among all the heirs. As for the profit of 545 Egyptian pounds, I did not distribute it to the heirs; I thought about distributing it to the poor, but I have not done so yet, and the heirs are aware of this. One of my sisters gave me 200 Egyptian pounds to distribute for the sake of Allah, or as a donation to a mosque as charity on behalf of my mother. I kept it and did not spend it for this purpose. My share of my mother’s inheritance was 300 Egyptian pounds. My zakah share for the year 1983 to 1984, i.e., a full year, was 1,100 Egyptian pounds, which I did not pay out. I intended to pay 611 Egyptian pounds to the poor as charity on behalf of my late mother, but I did not pay it out. Four people from the family gave me 40 Egyptian pounds for the sake of Allah as charity on behalf of my late mother, which I did not pay out. Two days before my mother’s death, she told me: “I owe 80 Egyptian pounds in zakah,” and asked me to pay this amount, but I did not. The purpose of not paying out these amounts was that I thought of the following: to gather the aforementioned amounts, which are: 545 + 200 + 300 +
1100 + 611 + 40 + 80, making a total of 2,876 Egyptian pounds. I actually deposited this in an investment project that complies with Islamic Sharia in Egypt on July 22, 1984, with the aim of distributing the return from this amount annually to the poor, on the condition that this amount in the end—i.e., the deposited capital—be for the sake of Allah the Exalted. I appointed a Muslim brother with me in this matter, and he has the right to spend and distribute to the poor in my absence. My goal is also to work on increasing the capital from Muslim brothers through charity or their zakah so that the capital increases, and consequently the return increases, and the return is distributed to the greatest number of poor people. The intention behind all of this is good, if Allah wills. The question that arises now is: Am I correct, and should I continue investing the amount, which is 2,876 Egyptian pounds, and work on increasing the capital from Muslim brothers, whether from their charity or their zakah, and distribute the return to the poor, so that the capital in the end is for the sake of Allah? Or should I distribute the amount, which is 2,876 Egyptian pounds, to the poor and not continue with this project? We ask your eminence to reply to us quickly by mail so that we do not continue in error if there is any error.
A: First: Holding funeral gatherings for the deceased is not prescribed, and therefore it is obligatory to return
the money spent on the funeral gathering to the heirs. Second: The lawful profits in the investment company belong to the heirs, so they must be distributed to them unless they waive their right to them. Third: The zakah obligatory upon you for the year 1983, and the zakah obligatory upon your mother, must be paid to those entitled to it mentioned in the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah]
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.