Is it permissible to use the funds donated specifically for the Afghan jihad for something more important than that?
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The questioner : Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. Is it permissible to use the funds donated specifically for the Afghan jihad for something more important than that, or for something of equal importance, such as assisting young men who wish to marry, or preparing the warriors in the path of Allah, or paying off the debts of the indebted? Please note that some people have already done this after consulting the mujahideen leaders, and Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt among the scholars of the Muslims that the saying of the Exalted in the famous verse regarding the categories of zakah:[At-Tawbah 9:60] and then He said at the end of it: [At-Tawbah 9:60] that the first thing that falls under "in the path of Allah" is jihad. Does it include any other meaning? In the past, it has not come from any of the famous imams that the meaning of: [At-Tawbah 9:60] can be expanded to include more than jihad and hajj. That is, if you take a poor person to the Sacred House of Allah for hajj with his money, that suffices him for the zakah of his wealth. So there is no other way to interpret this phrase of the verse except in jihad, or in hajj. I know that some of the contemporary scholars have expanded the meaning of this phrase to include all paths of good, and this expansion is not praiseworthy in my view for two reasons:
First: because it has not come from any of the Salaf or the scholars of tafsir, to my knowledge. Second: because it contradicts the beginning of the verse, which came with the tool of restriction:[At-Tawbah 9:60] etc., and it also contradicts the enumeration mentioned, for this enumeration means restriction to these eight types. If the intended meaning of the saying of the Exalted: [At-Tawbah 9:60] were the broader meaning, it would include what falls under these seven types and the eighth in the path of Allah, and other things not mentioned in the verse. In that case, there would be nothing befitting the speech of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, in terms of eloquence and gathering many meanings in few words, which is part of the inimitability of the Noble Qur'an.
Therefore, for these two reasons, it is not correct to expand the meaning of this phrase to more than jihad and hajj. And were it not for the fact that it came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from a side indicating that it is permissible to spend zakah money on taking a poor person for hajj, and were it not for the fact that Imam Ahmad said so, were it not for these two matters, we would not have expanded and would have stopped at the specific meaning[At-Tawbah 9:60] which is jihad. But since it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a story that has some length, and the time we mentioned to you has ended, I say this story: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the man who refused to take his wife for hajj on a mount he had, on the pretext that he had endowed it in the path of Allah, meaning for jihad, so he said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): For the sake of this hadith, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) expanded the indication of the verse and "in the path of Allah," and included in it also: taking for hajj to the Sacred House of Allah.
Therefore, we stop at this verse in its understanding without expanding it. And if we know that, then what came in the question are matters that are not of jihad and not of taking for hajj, as I mention now: marrying the poor with these funds that were collected to be spent on jihad in Afghanistan. And on that basis, we say: It is not permissible to spend these funds except with the intention for which they were collected to be sent to the mujahideen in Afghanistan. This is the most obligatory, because zakah money is not spent except in one of these eight types. And if those who paid it paid it to be spent on jihad in the path of Allah there, then it is not permissible to dispose of it in other than the intention for which they paid it. This is what I have.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt among the scholars of the Muslims that the saying of the Exalted in the famous verse regarding the categories of zakah:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy
إنما الصدقات للفقراء والمساكينfor the cause of Allah
وفي سبيل اللهfor the cause of Allah
وفي سبيل اللهFirst: because it has not come from any of the Salaf or the scholars of tafsir, to my knowledge. Second: because it contradicts the beginning of the verse, which came with the tool of restriction:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor
إنما الصدقات للفقراءfor the cause of Allah
وفي سبيل اللهTherefore, for these two reasons, it is not correct to expand the meaning of this phrase to more than jihad and hajj. And were it not for the fact that it came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from a side indicating that it is permissible to spend zakah money on taking a poor person for hajj, and were it not for the fact that Imam Ahmad said so, were it not for these two matters, we would not have expanded and would have stopped at the specific meaning
for the cause of Allah
وفي سبيل اللهIf you had taken her for hajj on it, it would have been in the path of Allah
لو أنك أحججتها عليه لكان في سبيل اللهTherefore, we stop at this verse in its understanding without expanding it. And if we know that, then what came in the question are matters that are not of jihad and not of taking for hajj, as I mention now: marrying the poor with these funds that were collected to be spent on jihad in Afghanistan. And on that basis, we say: It is not permissible to spend these funds except with the intention for which they were collected to be sent to the mujahideen in Afghanistan. This is the most obligatory, because zakah money is not spent except in one of these eight types. And if those who paid it paid it to be spent on jihad in the path of Allah there, then it is not permissible to dispose of it in other than the intention for which they paid it. This is what I have.