Is it permissible to spend zakah funds on purchasing Islamic books for poor students of knowledge?

The questioner : O Shaykh, is it permissible to spend zakah funds on purchasing Islamic books for poor students of knowledge?

The Shaykh : In my opinion, it is not permissible, because it is a condition for zakah that it be handed directly to the poor person. As for purchasing some needs for the poor with these zakah funds, even if those needs are books of knowledge, this is not permissible. These funds should be given to the poor students of knowledge, and they should be advised to spend them on purchasing books, or they should be asked to act as agents for purchasing these books. If they act as agents, that is fine; otherwise, they are the most deserving to take this money and dispose of it within the limits of their personal benefit. This is what we believe, and this is what is derived from the texts found in the Book and the Sunnah. This expenditure falls under the general meaning of the statement of Allah the Exalted: If this generality were intended by this word or this phrase in the verse, it would be a grave error to interpret this Qur'anic text, and "in the cause of Allah," in the broadest and most inclusive sense, for two reasons. First, this would nullify the tool of restriction mentioned at the beginning of the verse: Then, if this generality were intended, it would nullify the detail mentioned in the verse and waste the wisdom behind that detail. It could have been said, "The alms are only for the cause of Allah," and the matter would have ended there. But since He says: and lists the remaining eight categories, including "in the cause of Allah," lumping "in the cause of Allah" into the group of the eight categories on one hand, and restricting zakah to these eight categories with the tool of restriction "only," it cannot mean that "in the cause of Allah" has this broad, inclusive meaning that some Islamic preachers today advocate in order to expand the circle of beneficiaries of zakah funds. And I firmly believe that the reasons for this expansion are two. The first is not giving due consideration to the knowledge of the Salaf and the interpretation of the Salaf. The second is that when the wealthy Muslims fell short in fulfilling other obligations of charity that are required in addition to zakah, they wanted to fill this gap by interpreting the Qur'anic text and expanding the scope of zakah expenditures to the widest possible extent. This is, in fact, a double error. It reminds me of the well-known saying: "Sa'd led them in, and Sa'd was wrapped up. That is not how you lead in camels, O Sa'd." Correcting the errors that the Muslim scholar falls into by distorting texts and interpreting them, or rather distorting them, into meanings that Muslims did not know before, is not a way to treat some of the errors that occur today. Because these treatments are exactly like the treatment of Abu Nuwas, who used to say, "And I treated with that which was the disease."

The questioner : Well, Shaykh, if we phrase the question differently.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : I mean, a man pays his zakah to an Islamic organization or association that cares for poor students, caring for them in their education and in ...

The Shaykh : I tell you, stay in your place.

The questioner : Is it permissible to spend from zakah for them?

The Shaykh : "Stay in your place" is a Syrian expression. It is a military system in Syria when the army is marching, and the officer wants to stop them from walking, but he does not want to freeze them; he wants them to keep moving but without advancing. He tells them, "Stay in your place." They do not advance and they do not retreat.

The questioner : Well, if we phrase it differently. We actually asked this question of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen in the Sacred Mosque in Makkah during the last ten nights, and he answered that the caller in the cause of Allah is one who is spent upon in the cause of Allah, and since books are, so to speak, a weapon for this caller, we see that it is permissible, or as he said. So how do you respond to this statement?

The Shaykh : My response has already been given, but now it needs some clarification and explanation. In the noble verse, what is the cause of Allah?

The questioner : Jihad in the cause of Allah.

The Shaykh : You know, so stick to it—may Allah have mercy on you. A question like that: Is giving money to a student of knowledge who is poor part of the cause of Allah, or is it part of the poor?

The questioner : The poor.

The Shaykh : Well, by what means is the permissibility of what you quoted answered? And I tell you, what Ibn Uthaymeen said? Where do we derive this permissibility from? We derive it from expanding the meaning of "the cause of Allah" as we explained earlier. Therefore, I say the answer to the first question has already been given in detail. As I said, I developed the question, so the answer was "stay in your place." And I developed the question in a third way, so the answer is still "stay in your place."