Is it permissible to give zakah to a poor husband?
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The questioner : A woman asks: Honorable Shaykh! A woman has gold and asks: Is it permissible for me to give my zakah to my husband if he is weak and has many debts?
The Shaykh : And is the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), "Start with those you are responsible for," a general rule in everything? Yes, it is permissible for a woman to give her zakah to her husband if he is poor, especially if he has debts. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Hind bint 'Utbah, and he said to the wife of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, "Your husband and your children are the most deserving of the charity you give." So it is permissible for her to pay off her husband's debt from her zakah, and there is no blame on her for that. It is obligatory for us, as students of knowledge, to know that when texts are revealed in a general form, it is obligatory to act according to their generality, and nothing is excluded from their scope except by evidence. This is a principle to which reference was made recently. So the saying of Allah the Exalted[At-Tawbah 9:60] these are general terms, encompassing the near and the far. Indeed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said For example, if a person has a poor father and he has charity.
We say: Is your father included in the poor mentioned in the verse? Yes, there is no doubt that he is included. He is poor. What is the evidence that you should not give him from your zakah? Where is the evidence? There is no evidence. But if the poor person is one whose maintenance is obligatory upon you, it is not permissible for you to give him from your zakah for his maintenance. Take note: if the relative is one whose maintenance is obligatory upon you, it is not permissible for you to give him from your zakah for his maintenance. Why? Because if you give him from your zakah for his maintenance, it is as if you did not pay the zakah, because you have now given him maintenance, and maintenance is obligatory upon you. So the principle is that we say: every relative whose maintenance is obligatory upon you, it is not permissible for you to give him from your zakah for his maintenance. And consider the phrase "for his maintenance"; if you give him for something other than maintenance, there is no harm. For example.
If your father incurred a loss, other than an accident, for example, and he incurred a loss, is it permissible for you to pay off his loss from your zakah? Yes, it is permissible. But is it permissible for you to spend on him from your zakah, when you are obligated to maintain him? No. The difference is that you are not obligated to pay off your father's loss.
And you are obligated to maintain your father. And the reverse is the same: if a person has a poor son and the father is able to maintain him, and the father gives him from his zakah, what do you say? This is a person who has a poor son and the father is able to maintain him. Is it permissible for him to give him from his zakah? No, because his maintenance is obligatory upon him. But if the son incurred a loss from an accident that happened to him or something he destroyed and he was liable for its compensation, is it permissible for his father to pay off his compensation from his zakah? Yes, because the father is not obligated to pay off his son's loss. So this is the principle in this issue: we say that relatives are included in the generality, so they have the right to zakah. Zakah is for the poor, meaning any person. But if giving him from your zakah results in the maintenance being lifted from you, then that does not suffice. That is, if the relative is one whose maintenance is obligatory upon you, it is not permissible for you to give him from your zakah for his maintenance. Yes.
The questioner : What if you were? Start with yourself.
The Shaykh : "With those you are responsible for" means that if a person has something in excess of his wealth, let him start with those he is responsible for. And it is not intended to mean voluntary charity; voluntary charity, as we mentioned, is according to the details you heard.
The Shaykh : And is the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), "Start with those you are responsible for," a general rule in everything? Yes, it is permissible for a woman to give her zakah to her husband if he is poor, especially if he has debts. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Hind bint 'Utbah, and he said to the wife of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, "Your husband and your children are the most deserving of the charity you give." So it is permissible for her to pay off her husband's debt from her zakah, and there is no blame on her for that. It is obligatory for us, as students of knowledge, to know that when texts are revealed in a general form, it is obligatory to act according to their generality, and nothing is excluded from their scope except by evidence. This is a principle to which reference was made recently. So 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
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِYour charity to a relative is a charity and a bond of kinship,
صدقتك على ذي القرابة صدقة وصلة،We say: Is your father included in the poor mentioned in the verse? Yes, there is no doubt that he is included. He is poor. What is the evidence that you should not give him from your zakah? Where is the evidence? There is no evidence. But if the poor person is one whose maintenance is obligatory upon you, it is not permissible for you to give him from your zakah for his maintenance. Take note: if the relative is one whose maintenance is obligatory upon you, it is not permissible for you to give him from your zakah for his maintenance. Why? Because if you give him from your zakah for his maintenance, it is as if you did not pay the zakah, because you have now given him maintenance, and maintenance is obligatory upon you. So the principle is that we say: every relative whose maintenance is obligatory upon you, it is not permissible for you to give him from your zakah for his maintenance. And consider the phrase "for his maintenance"; if you give him for something other than maintenance, there is no harm. For example.
If your father incurred a loss, other than an accident, for example, and he incurred a loss, is it permissible for you to pay off his loss from your zakah? Yes, it is permissible. But is it permissible for you to spend on him from your zakah, when you are obligated to maintain him? No. The difference is that you are not obligated to pay off your father's loss.
And you are obligated to maintain your father. And the reverse is the same: if a person has a poor son and the father is able to maintain him, and the father gives him from his zakah, what do you say? This is a person who has a poor son and the father is able to maintain him. Is it permissible for him to give him from his zakah? No, because his maintenance is obligatory upon him. But if the son incurred a loss from an accident that happened to him or something he destroyed and he was liable for its compensation, is it permissible for his father to pay off his compensation from his zakah? Yes, because the father is not obligated to pay off his son's loss. So this is the principle in this issue: we say that relatives are included in the generality, so they have the right to zakah. Zakah is for the poor, meaning any person. But if giving him from your zakah results in the maintenance being lifted from you, then that does not suffice. That is, if the relative is one whose maintenance is obligatory upon you, it is not permissible for you to give him from your zakah for his maintenance. Yes.
The questioner : What if you were? Start with yourself.
The Shaykh : "With those you are responsible for" means that if a person has something in excess of his wealth, let him start with those he is responsible for. And it is not intended to mean voluntary charity; voluntary charity, as we mentioned, is according to the details you heard.
Source
اللقاءات الرمضانية لعام 1411هـ - 5 — binothaimeen.net (38:41)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.