Distributing Zakat al-Fitr to Associations
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Fatwa No. ( 13231 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
the inquiry submitted to His Eminence the General President by the Chairman of the Board of the Association of Charity in Jeddah , the text of which is as follows: The Association of Charity in Jeddah , registered with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs under number (62) since the date 6/3/1404 AH, undertakes the provision of certain social services, the most important of which are: 1 - The care of orphans and those who have lost both parents (of unknown parentage) and children from special circumstances; such as the children of prisoners or those afflicted with mental illness or a terminal disease. The care includes both genders (boys and girls) with full residential educational care. 2 - The care of needy families by providing financial and in-kind assistance, as well as school supplies, after an extensive investigative study conducted by experienced or specialized male and female researchers based on objective scientific criteria. This is followed by continuous periodic follow-up to observe and accommodate any changes that may occur in the beneficiary families, whether positive or negative. The Association currently shelters approximately two hundred boys and girls, and more than six hundred families, and provides school assistance to approximately one thousand male and female students. It is expected, with Allah's permission, in the event of an improvement in the Association's resources, that its new shelter will house five hundred children, and that the number of families receiving assistance from the Association will double, and likewise the case with school assistance. The Association obtains its resources from zakat, donations, gifts, and bequests, in addition to
members' subscriptions. Since the Association has decided to collect Zakat al-Fitr on its behalf, whether it is paid directly as food, or converted into food on behalf of those who pay in cash, similar to the meat of sacrificial animals, hady, and fidyah, and this is before the 'Id prayer, is it permissible for it to distribute and consume that food gradually according to the needs of the beneficiaries it cares for? I ask your Eminence to issue your fatwa on this matter so that we may proceed with this charitable project.
And the Committee responded as follows: It is obligatory for the Association to distribute Zakat al-Fitr to those entitled to it before the 'Id prayer, and it is not permissible to delay it beyond that; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered its payment to the poor before the 'Id prayer. The Association is like an agent for the one paying zakat, and it is not permissible for the Association to take from Zakat al-Fitr except the amount it can distribute to the poor before the 'Id prayer. It is not permissible to pay Zakat al-Fitr in cash; because the scriptural evidence indicates the obligation to pay it in food. It is not permissible to deviate from the scriptural evidence due to the statement of any person. If the people of zakat pay the Association in cash to buy food for the poor, it is obligatory for it to execute that before the 'Id prayer, and it is not permissible for it to pay out the cash.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
the inquiry submitted to His Eminence the General President by the Chairman of the Board of the Association of Charity in Jeddah , the text of which is as follows: The Association of Charity in Jeddah , registered with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs under number (62) since the date 6/3/1404 AH, undertakes the provision of certain social services, the most important of which are: 1 - The care of orphans and those who have lost both parents (of unknown parentage) and children from special circumstances; such as the children of prisoners or those afflicted with mental illness or a terminal disease. The care includes both genders (boys and girls) with full residential educational care. 2 - The care of needy families by providing financial and in-kind assistance, as well as school supplies, after an extensive investigative study conducted by experienced or specialized male and female researchers based on objective scientific criteria. This is followed by continuous periodic follow-up to observe and accommodate any changes that may occur in the beneficiary families, whether positive or negative. The Association currently shelters approximately two hundred boys and girls, and more than six hundred families, and provides school assistance to approximately one thousand male and female students. It is expected, with Allah's permission, in the event of an improvement in the Association's resources, that its new shelter will house five hundred children, and that the number of families receiving assistance from the Association will double, and likewise the case with school assistance. The Association obtains its resources from zakat, donations, gifts, and bequests, in addition to
members' subscriptions. Since the Association has decided to collect Zakat al-Fitr on its behalf, whether it is paid directly as food, or converted into food on behalf of those who pay in cash, similar to the meat of sacrificial animals, hady, and fidyah, and this is before the 'Id prayer, is it permissible for it to distribute and consume that food gradually according to the needs of the beneficiaries it cares for? I ask your Eminence to issue your fatwa on this matter so that we may proceed with this charitable project.
And the Committee responded as follows: It is obligatory for the Association to distribute Zakat al-Fitr to those entitled to it before the 'Id prayer, and it is not permissible to delay it beyond that; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered its payment to the poor before the 'Id prayer. The Association is like an agent for the one paying zakat, and it is not permissible for the Association to take from Zakat al-Fitr except the amount it can distribute to the poor before the 'Id prayer. It is not permissible to pay Zakat al-Fitr in cash; because the scriptural evidence indicates the obligation to pay it in food. It is not permissible to deviate from the scriptural evidence due to the statement of any person. If the people of zakat pay the Association in cash to buy food for the poor, it is obligatory for it to execute that before the 'Id prayer, and it is not permissible for it to pay out the cash.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.