Can the donor impose conditions when he gives out money?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : It is well known that the Afghan mujahideen or the Afghan refugees need many things. So some people of good will say, for example, that a sum of money is designated for something... for the migrants or the mujahideen. Can the donor impose a condition by saying, "Build me a school for the orphan or poor children of the migrants with the zakah money that he designated for this purpose"?
The Shaykh : So he is not a donor. You said: donor!
The questioner : He is one who pays zakah.
The Shaykh : Okay, one who pays zakah.
The questioner : One who gives out zakah.
The Shaykh : So you are asking about something that has already been answered! If you mean by donation the obligatory zakah, then the discussion is over. But if you mean by donation the common meaning, which is synonymous with voluntary charity, then he has that right.
The questioner : So, Shaykh, the money remains for this migrant, and he does with it what he wishes!
The Shaykh : My brother, the migrant is a mujahid in the cause of Allah, or is he not?
The questioner: No.
The Shaykh : If he is a mujahid, he is given it; otherwise, he is not.
The questioner : And he has the right to build whatever he wishes or use it for whatever he wishes.
The Shaykh : No, the matter is that if you do that, it goes beyond the scope of organization. Zakah is given in the cause of Allah to those who are responsible for distributing these funds in the cause of Allah. The mujahid army in the cause of Allah may, for example, need clothes more than weapons; so he places it where he sees fit. The situation may be the reverse. However, giving zakah to individuals may lead them to dispose of it according to their own judgment. At the very least, their judgment is personal, whereas the matter is a public benefit, not an individual benefit. So, he is given zakah if he is poor, not if he is a mujahid. If he is poor, he is better aware of his situation; so he spends this money on this need. But if he is given it by virtue of being a mujahid and not by virtue of being poor, this is not given to individuals; out of fear of expanding its use to things other than what this money was intended for.
The Shaykh : So he is not a donor. You said: donor!
The questioner : He is one who pays zakah.
The Shaykh : Okay, one who pays zakah.
The questioner : One who gives out zakah.
The Shaykh : So you are asking about something that has already been answered! If you mean by donation the obligatory zakah, then the discussion is over. But if you mean by donation the common meaning, which is synonymous with voluntary charity, then he has that right.
The questioner : So, Shaykh, the money remains for this migrant, and he does with it what he wishes!
The Shaykh : My brother, the migrant is a mujahid in the cause of Allah, or is he not?
The questioner: No.
The Shaykh : If he is a mujahid, he is given it; otherwise, he is not.
The questioner : And he has the right to build whatever he wishes or use it for whatever he wishes.
The Shaykh : No, the matter is that if you do that, it goes beyond the scope of organization. Zakah is given in the cause of Allah to those who are responsible for distributing these funds in the cause of Allah. The mujahid army in the cause of Allah may, for example, need clothes more than weapons; so he places it where he sees fit. The situation may be the reverse. However, giving zakah to individuals may lead them to dispose of it according to their own judgment. At the very least, their judgment is personal, whereas the matter is a public benefit, not an individual benefit. So, he is given zakah if he is poor, not if he is a mujahid. If he is poor, he is better aware of his situation; so he spends this money on this need. But if he is given it by virtue of being a mujahid and not by virtue of being poor, this is not given to individuals; out of fear of expanding its use to things other than what this money was intended for.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.