Is it permissible for me to give my zakat al-mal or zakat al-fitr to my minor brothers and sisters whom my mother is raising after the death of our father (may Allah have mercy on him)?
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The questioner : Is it permissible for me to give my zakat al-mal or zakat al-fitr to my minor brothers and sisters whom my mother is raising after the death of our father (may Allah have mercy on him)? And is it permissible to give this zakat to my non-minor brothers and sisters, but I feel that they are in need of it, perhaps more than the other people to whom I give this zakat? Please advise us, may Allah reward you and guide your steps?
The Shaykh : The answer is that giving zakat to relatives who are among its eligible recipients is better than giving it to those who are not your relatives, because charity to a relative is both charity and maintaining family ties. However, if these relatives are among those whose financial maintenance is obligatory upon you, and you give them from the zakat what protects your wealth from the obligation of spending on them, then this is not permissible. If it is determined that these brothers and sisters you mentioned are poor, and your wealth is not sufficient to provide for them, then there is no blame on you for giving them from your zakat. Likewise, if these brothers or sisters have debts to people, and you pay off their debts from your zakat, then there is no blame on you in this either. This is because a relative is not obligated to pay off the debts of his relative, so paying them off from his zakat is a valid action, even if it is his son or his father who has a debt to someone and is unable to repay it. It is permissible for you to pay it off from your zakat. That is, it is permissible to pay off your father's debt from your zakat, and it is permissible to pay off your child's debt from your zakat, on the condition that the cause of this debt is not the acquisition of maintenance that is obligatory upon you. If the cause is the acquisition of maintenance that is obligatory upon you, then it is not permissible for you to pay off the debt from your zakat, lest that be used as a ruse for a person to refrain from spending on those whose maintenance is obligatory upon him, so that they borrow and then he pays their debts from his zakat.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, esteemed Shaykh, and may He magnify your reward.
The Shaykh : The answer is that giving zakat to relatives who are among its eligible recipients is better than giving it to those who are not your relatives, because charity to a relative is both charity and maintaining family ties. However, if these relatives are among those whose financial maintenance is obligatory upon you, and you give them from the zakat what protects your wealth from the obligation of spending on them, then this is not permissible. If it is determined that these brothers and sisters you mentioned are poor, and your wealth is not sufficient to provide for them, then there is no blame on you for giving them from your zakat. Likewise, if these brothers or sisters have debts to people, and you pay off their debts from your zakat, then there is no blame on you in this either. This is because a relative is not obligated to pay off the debts of his relative, so paying them off from his zakat is a valid action, even if it is his son or his father who has a debt to someone and is unable to repay it. It is permissible for you to pay it off from your zakat. That is, it is permissible to pay off your father's debt from your zakat, and it is permissible to pay off your child's debt from your zakat, on the condition that the cause of this debt is not the acquisition of maintenance that is obligatory upon you. If the cause is the acquisition of maintenance that is obligatory upon you, then it is not permissible for you to pay off the debt from your zakat, lest that be used as a ruse for a person to refrain from spending on those whose maintenance is obligatory upon him, so that they borrow and then he pays their debts from his zakat.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, esteemed Shaykh, and may He magnify your reward.