The ruling on giving zakah to the poor of the Haram without knowing their circumstances
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The questioner : The questioner says: What is the ruling on giving zakah to the poor of the Haram, when I know nothing about them? Is it considered zakah or voluntary charity?
The Shaykh : It is voluntary charity if a person intends it as voluntary charity, and it is zakah if he intends it as zakah. If a person gives to someone he thinks is poor, and it turns out he is rich, his zakah is accepted. His zakah is accepted, and this is a blessing from Allah. If we said that it is obligatory to know that the recipient is among those entitled to zakah, that would be a hardship. But a strong suspicion is sufficient. If it is your strong suspicion that this person is among those entitled to zakah, based on an indicator such as his clothing and appearance, or his asking, and you do not know about him, then give him from the zakah, and it is sufficient, even if it turns out he is rich. The evidence for this is the story of the man who went out and gave charity, and the people started saying, "He gave charity to a rich man tonight." He said, "Praise be to Allah for giving to a rich man." Then he went out the second night and gave charity, and the people started talking, saying, "He gave charity to a fornicator tonight, may Allah protect us from fornication." Then he went out the third time and gave charity, and the people started talking, saying, "He gave charity to a thief tonight." He said, "Praise be to Allah for giving to a thief." It seemed to him that his charity had not been accepted. So it was said to him, "Your charity has been accepted. As for the rich man, perhaps he will be admonished and give charity.
As for the fornicator, perhaps this will be enough for her to repent from fornication. And as for the thief, perhaps this will also make him refrain from stealing, so he will stop stealing and repent to Allah. The important thing is that if a person intends and strives, and it turns out he made a mistake in his striving, then his striving is valid and he is not blamed for it.
The Shaykh : It is voluntary charity if a person intends it as voluntary charity, and it is zakah if he intends it as zakah. If a person gives to someone he thinks is poor, and it turns out he is rich, his zakah is accepted. His zakah is accepted, and this is a blessing from Allah. If we said that it is obligatory to know that the recipient is among those entitled to zakah, that would be a hardship. But a strong suspicion is sufficient. If it is your strong suspicion that this person is among those entitled to zakah, based on an indicator such as his clothing and appearance, or his asking, and you do not know about him, then give him from the zakah, and it is sufficient, even if it turns out he is rich. The evidence for this is the story of the man who went out and gave charity, and the people started saying, "He gave charity to a rich man tonight." He said, "Praise be to Allah for giving to a rich man." Then he went out the second night and gave charity, and the people started talking, saying, "He gave charity to a fornicator tonight, may Allah protect us from fornication." Then he went out the third time and gave charity, and the people started talking, saying, "He gave charity to a thief tonight." He said, "Praise be to Allah for giving to a thief." It seemed to him that his charity had not been accepted. So it was said to him, "Your charity has been accepted. As for the rich man, perhaps he will be admonished and give charity.
As for the fornicator, perhaps this will be enough for her to repent from fornication. And as for the thief, perhaps this will also make him refrain from stealing, so he will stop stealing and repent to Allah. The important thing is that if a person intends and strives, and it turns out he made a mistake in his striving, then his striving is valid and he is not blamed for it.
Source
اللقاءات الرمضانية لعام 1412هـ - 2 — binothaimeen.net (44:49)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.