Paying Zakat al-Fitr and the Udhiyah to Charitable Associations as Agents
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Does the permissibility and prescription of appointing agents to distribute charity imply that what is currently done—giving the Fitr charity to charitable associations to distribute to the poor, and giving them money to slaughter the Udhiyah and distribute it—is valid? I ask for your guidance, Honorable Shaykh.
Answer:
Charity is only paid to those whom the authority has appointed as workers, namely the workers whom the authority appoints. This is what is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to send workers and collectors. If the authority appoints a worker or workers to collect the charity of wealth (Zakah) or the Fitr charity, then it is paid to them because they are agents of the Imam. However, if they are voluntary associations acting on their own, they are merely an intermediary, not an agent; they are an intermediary between you and the poor. Yes.
Does the permissibility and prescription of appointing agents to distribute charity imply that what is currently done—giving the Fitr charity to charitable associations to distribute to the poor, and giving them money to slaughter the Udhiyah and distribute it—is valid? I ask for your guidance, Honorable Shaykh.
Answer:
Charity is only paid to those whom the authority has appointed as workers, namely the workers whom the authority appoints. This is what is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to send workers and collectors. If the authority appoints a worker or workers to collect the charity of wealth (Zakah) or the Fitr charity, then it is paid to them because they are agents of the Imam. However, if they are voluntary associations acting on their own, they are merely an intermediary, not an agent; they are an intermediary between you and the poor. Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، تتمة باب الصلح — islamhouse.com (1:00:09)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.