The Ruling on Paying Zakat al-Mal in Kind

Question : This questioner says: A man has zakat amounting to two thousand riyals, and he found about ten families in pressing need of foodstuffs. He distributed the zakat among the families, estimating what each family would take, and bought foodstuffs for each family according to its share of the zakat. He did this because he feared that if he gave them the zakat in cash, they would spend it on things of no benefit, or on forbidden things, and he knows this from the condition of some of the families. What is the ruling on that?

Answer : It is not valid to pay anything in kind in place of cash zakat; rather, it is obligatory that cash zakat be paid in cash. However, if he fears, as stated in the question, that if he gives it in cash the recipient will dispose of it in an un-Islamic manner or waste it without benefit, then he says to him: “O so-and-so, I have zakat money. What do you need for your house? Do you need this or that?” until he clarifies it to him, and then he says: “Appoint me as your agent to buy them for you.” In that case, the poor person has appointed the one who wants to give him as a legal agent to buy his necessities.

The presenter : May Allah reward you