Is it permissible for a person to take a sum of money from another person as a gift when he knows that it is from the zakah?
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The questioner : This is a message received from a listener of the program, the listener 'A, S, 'A, H. In truth, his message is long. At its beginning, he says: Is it permissible, O honorable Shaykh, for a person to take a sum of money from another person as a gift when he knows that it is from the zakah? The amount was presented to the mentioned person, and he gave him a portion of it. Is this permissible for him or not?
The Shaykh : If the one who took the money from the person, and the money is from the zakah, is among the people entitled to the zakah, then there is no blame on him, for a person has no blame in taking what Allah has made lawful for him.
And the people entitled to zakah are eight, and Allah the Exalted specified them in His saying:[At-Tawbah 9:60] The poor and the needy take it for their need, but the poor person is in greater need than the needy person. The scholars said that this includes the one who does not find his own sufficiency and the sufficiency of his family for a year. As for the one who finds sufficiency, he is not among the poor or the needy. An example of this is if a person’s salary is four thousand per month, but he has a large family and spends six thousand per month on them, between clothing, food, drink, rent, and the like. The point is that the salary is four thousand and what he spends is six thousand. Then he is given from the zakah twelve thousand, or rather, he is given from the zakah twenty-four thousand, because he needs two thousand every month. However, he is not given more than that, as the scholars said that the poor and the needy are given what suffices them for a year.
As for the workers on it, they are those whom the state appoints to collect the zakah and distribute it to its rightful recipients. The worker on it is not the one to whom it is customary to give, as some of the common people understand it. Some of the common people think that the workers on it are those to whom it is customary to give from the zakah, but that is not the case. Rather, the workers on it are those whom the state appoints to collect the zakah and distribute it to its rightful recipients and what is related to that.
As for those whose hearts are to be reconciled, they are the people who need to be reconciled to Islam, either because they are disbelievers and are given to become Muslims if their Islam is hoped for, or because they are Muslims but need their faith strengthened, so they are given from the zakah what strengthens their faith.
As for the slaves, this includes the slaves who are bought from the zakah to be freed, and the mukatabin who are given from the zakah to pay off the debt of their contract, and the Muslim prisoners who are given from the zakah to ransom them from captivity.
Likewise, the one who is kidnapped by someone from among the people and a ransom is demanded, and we are unable to free him except by that ransom, he is given from the zakah to free him.
As for those in debt, they are the debtors who have debts to people, whether for the price of a sale, rent for a house, a loan, or otherwise, and they are unable to pay them off. Then their debts are paid off from the zakah.
Paying off their debt from the zakah has two forms. The first form is that we give it to him himself so that he pays off his debt. The second form is that we go to the creditor and pay off the debtor’s debt for him. But which of the two is better? We say that if the debtor is a person of religion and trustworthiness, such that if we give him the money to pay off his debt, he will pay it off, then the preferable thing is to give it to him so that he pays it off himself, so that the favor does not appear upon him. As for if the debtor is a fool, and it is feared that if we give him the money to pay it off, he will spend it on his pleasures and what he does not need, and leave his conscience encumbered by his debt, then in this case, the better thing is for us to go to the creditor and give him the debt that is due to him.
As for His saying “in the cause of Allah,” the meaning of this is jihad in the cause of Allah. The mujahid is given what suffices him for his jihad, or weapons are bought to help the mujahideen in their jihad. And among that, meaning among jihad in the cause of Allah, is devoting oneself to seeking knowledge. So if a person is found who is devoted to seeking Islamic knowledge, he is given from the zakah, even if he is able to earn a living if he went out to earn it. This is because seeking Islamic knowledge is from jihad in the cause of Allah.
These are the categories of zakah to which Allah the Exalted commanded that the zakah be distributed. It is not permissible to distribute the zakah in building mosques, schools, ribats, and the like, because Allah the Exalted restricted the entitlement to these eight.
The point is that the questioner’s question is about the one who gave him dirhams, and he knows that they are from the zakah. We tell him: If you are among the people entitled to zakah, then it is lawful for you. And if you are not among the people entitled to it, then it is not lawful for you to take it from him. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : If the one who took the money from the person, and the money is from the zakah, is among the people entitled to the zakah, then there is no blame on him, for a person has no blame in taking what Allah has made lawful for him.
And the people entitled to zakah are eight, and Allah the Exalted specified them in His saying:
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 - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقاتُ لِلفُقَراءِ وَالمَساكينِ وَالعامِلينَ عَلَيها وَالمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلوبُهُم وَفِي الرِّقابِ وَالغارِمينَ وَفي سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَابنِ السَّبيلِ فَريضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَليمٌ حَكيمٌAs for the workers on it, they are those whom the state appoints to collect the zakah and distribute it to its rightful recipients. The worker on it is not the one to whom it is customary to give, as some of the common people understand it. Some of the common people think that the workers on it are those to whom it is customary to give from the zakah, but that is not the case. Rather, the workers on it are those whom the state appoints to collect the zakah and distribute it to its rightful recipients and what is related to that.
As for those whose hearts are to be reconciled, they are the people who need to be reconciled to Islam, either because they are disbelievers and are given to become Muslims if their Islam is hoped for, or because they are Muslims but need their faith strengthened, so they are given from the zakah what strengthens their faith.
As for the slaves, this includes the slaves who are bought from the zakah to be freed, and the mukatabin who are given from the zakah to pay off the debt of their contract, and the Muslim prisoners who are given from the zakah to ransom them from captivity.
Likewise, the one who is kidnapped by someone from among the people and a ransom is demanded, and we are unable to free him except by that ransom, he is given from the zakah to free him.
As for those in debt, they are the debtors who have debts to people, whether for the price of a sale, rent for a house, a loan, or otherwise, and they are unable to pay them off. Then their debts are paid off from the zakah.
Paying off their debt from the zakah has two forms. The first form is that we give it to him himself so that he pays off his debt. The second form is that we go to the creditor and pay off the debtor’s debt for him. But which of the two is better? We say that if the debtor is a person of religion and trustworthiness, such that if we give him the money to pay off his debt, he will pay it off, then the preferable thing is to give it to him so that he pays it off himself, so that the favor does not appear upon him. As for if the debtor is a fool, and it is feared that if we give him the money to pay it off, he will spend it on his pleasures and what he does not need, and leave his conscience encumbered by his debt, then in this case, the better thing is for us to go to the creditor and give him the debt that is due to him.
As for His saying “in the cause of Allah,” the meaning of this is jihad in the cause of Allah. The mujahid is given what suffices him for his jihad, or weapons are bought to help the mujahideen in their jihad. And among that, meaning among jihad in the cause of Allah, is devoting oneself to seeking knowledge. So if a person is found who is devoted to seeking Islamic knowledge, he is given from the zakah, even if he is able to earn a living if he went out to earn it. This is because seeking Islamic knowledge is from jihad in the cause of Allah.
These are the categories of zakah to which Allah the Exalted commanded that the zakah be distributed. It is not permissible to distribute the zakah in building mosques, schools, ribats, and the like, because Allah the Exalted restricted the entitlement to these eight.
The point is that the questioner’s question is about the one who gave him dirhams, and he knows that they are from the zakah. We tell him: If you are among the people entitled to zakah, then it is lawful for you. And if you are not among the people entitled to it, then it is not lawful for you to take it from him. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.