Prioritizing the sponsorship of an orphan within the country over outside the country
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His Eminence the Shaykh: Does the sponsor of an orphan through the Islamic Relief offices outside the Kingdom receive the reward of sponsoring an orphan, even if the orphan is not within the country? It is known that the relief offices send reports on the orphan's health and educational status, and these offices are branches within the country, the same as our branches here?
All wealth intended for the face of Allah: Whether it is sponsoring an orphan, charity, or zakah, if it is done within the country, that is better; because within the country, it is before you, and you can supervise it and know how it was spent.And do not say: If the people within the country are in a state of abundance and the like, we know that in the midst of the Kingdom and in the cities there is wealth, praise be to Allah, but in the outskirts of the Kingdom there is hunger and poverty, as we report. Therefore, those who are closer are more entitled to kindness, and the fact that you see the matter with your own eyes is better. For this reason, when there was exaggeration in such matters, some people began to say: Give us the zakat al-fitr to distribute there, give us the udhiyah to slaughter there. This is a mistake. The zakat al-fitr is in the country, and the udhiyah is with you and your family. Slaughter it in front of your family so that this great ritual is displayed.And the intended purpose of the udhiyah is not the meat: [Al-Hajj: 37] The most important thing in the udhiyah is to mention the name of Allah over it and slaughter it, and to eat from it. For this reason, Allah commanded eating from it and feeding others [Al-Hajj: 28], so He began with eating.
For this reason, we see that those who call people to slaughter their udhiyah outside the country are closer to sin than to safety. Yes! Call people to give charity to the Muslims waiting outside, that is good, and we support this. But as for transferring one of the visible rituals of Islam to there, that is a great mistake.
As for sponsoring an orphan, if you find an orphan, sponsoring him here is more preferable. And sponsorship is not just food, drink, and clothing, but also guardianship. Perhaps guardianship requires more attention than food and drink. So you keep him in your house with the children, you teach him, educate him, and be kind to him. This is the sponsorship of orphans.
All wealth intended for the face of Allah: Whether it is sponsoring an orphan, charity, or zakah, if it is done within the country, that is better; because within the country, it is before you, and you can supervise it and know how it was spent.And do not say: If the people within the country are in a state of abundance and the like, we know that in the midst of the Kingdom and in the cities there is wealth, praise be to Allah, but in the outskirts of the Kingdom there is hunger and poverty, as we report. Therefore, those who are closer are more entitled to kindness, and the fact that you see the matter with your own eyes is better. For this reason, when there was exaggeration in such matters, some people began to say: Give us the zakat al-fitr to distribute there, give us the udhiyah to slaughter there. This is a mistake. The zakat al-fitr is in the country, and the udhiyah is with you and your family. Slaughter it in front of your family so that this great ritual is displayed.And the intended purpose of the udhiyah is not the meat:
Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you
لَنْ يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَكِنْ يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنْكُمْSo eat of them and
فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُواFor this reason, we see that those who call people to slaughter their udhiyah outside the country are closer to sin than to safety. Yes! Call people to give charity to the Muslims waiting outside, that is good, and we support this. But as for transferring one of the visible rituals of Islam to there, that is a great mistake.
As for sponsoring an orphan, if you find an orphan, sponsoring him here is more preferable. And sponsorship is not just food, drink, and clothing, but also guardianship. Perhaps guardianship requires more attention than food and drink. So you keep him in your house with the children, you teach him, educate him, and be kind to him. This is the sponsorship of orphans.