What is donated to the Islamic Relief Agency is considered an absolute donation
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Fatwa No. ( 19324 )
Q: The International Islamic Relief Agency has consistently held "Suns of Goodness" parties in various regions of the Kingdom for the purpose of developing resources and collecting donations, attended by regional princes and prominent Saudi donors, and...
Your Eminence – may Allah reward you with good – has participated in many of them, and you have been at the forefront of those who give their money in this noble contribution. Since the original basis for holding such parties is ongoing charity, which is akin to an endowment for the Agency’s charitable works, some donors at those parties do not specify in the donation slip they sign that what they have given is an endowment. This has led to a difference in understanding among the Agency’s officials regarding whether what is announced in these parties and collected as donations is an endowment to be transferred to the entity responsible for investing the endowment, or whether it is general expenditure to be spent directly on the various charitable causes the Agency handles, such as healthcare, orphans, education, and building mosques. Therefore, I would like to present this matter to Your Eminence, requesting you to look into it and kindly inform us whether the funds presented to the Agency on these occasions are endowments for the Agency’s charitable works, which the Agency manages and benefits from the returns of, or whether they are general donations, where the collected funds are disposed of according to the Agency’s needs at the time, so that those in charge of managing the Agency are fully aware of the matter?
A: The original basis for funds paid to this Agency is that it is encouragement
for it, and it is an absolute donation, which the Agency spends on the various charitable causes it handles, unless the donor restricts it as an endowment, in which case it is restricted to what the endower specified. As for what is paid as zakah to this Agency, it is not permissible to spend it except in the eight categories of zakah mentioned in the saying of Allah the Exalted:[At-Tawbah 9:60] . And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: The International Islamic Relief Agency has consistently held "Suns of Goodness" parties in various regions of the Kingdom for the purpose of developing resources and collecting donations, attended by regional princes and prominent Saudi donors, and...
Your Eminence – may Allah reward you with good – has participated in many of them, and you have been at the forefront of those who give their money in this noble contribution. Since the original basis for holding such parties is ongoing charity, which is akin to an endowment for the Agency’s charitable works, some donors at those parties do not specify in the donation slip they sign that what they have given is an endowment. This has led to a difference in understanding among the Agency’s officials regarding whether what is announced in these parties and collected as donations is an endowment to be transferred to the entity responsible for investing the endowment, or whether it is general expenditure to be spent directly on the various charitable causes the Agency handles, such as healthcare, orphans, education, and building mosques. Therefore, I would like to present this matter to Your Eminence, requesting you to look into it and kindly inform us whether the funds presented to the Agency on these occasions are endowments for the Agency’s charitable works, which the Agency manages and benefits from the returns of, or whether they are general donations, where the collected funds are disposed of according to the Agency’s needs at the time, so that those in charge of managing the Agency are fully aware of the matter?
A: The original basis for funds paid to this Agency is that it is encouragement
for it, and it is an absolute donation, which the Agency spends on the various charitable causes it handles, unless the donor restricts it as an endowment, in which case it is restricted to what the endower specified. As for what is paid as zakah to this Agency, it is not permissible to spend it except in the eight categories of zakah 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] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.