We are a family, and my husband works for a modest salary that is not enough to cover the rent for the apartment we live in, and sometimes we could not find what to feed the children, and we were too proud to ask.
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The questioner : The questioner says: We are a family, and my husband works in the morning for a modest salary that is not enough for the rent of the apartment we live in, and he works at the end of the day according to what Allah provides for him so that we can feed the children from it. Sometimes he receives a provision on a given day, and sometimes a day, two days, or a week passes without him receiving any provision. On many occasions, we could not find what to feed the children, and we were too proud to ask, and no one was aware of us or knew that we were poor. We have wealthy, rich friends who do not know that we are poor, and they do not know of any poor people to give them their zakah. One day, one of them asked me if I knew any poor people who were eligible for the zakah of wealth, but on the condition that they be committed to prayer and the Islamic covering. These conditions apply to us, and I said to them: Yes, meaning the family, i.e., our family, and other poor people we know. She was giving us a monthly salary, a modest amount for each poor family, and we took from it as a poor family. The woman of wealth asked us to know the name of each family receiving this money and some data about the family, such as the number of members, to determine an appropriate amount for each family. I mentioned our family to her and identified it by our names because we are not well-known, as I was shy that she would know we were poor. Is there a sin on me for that?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is a sin on you for this, because it is obligatory that you tell the truth, and there is no harm for a person to explain his situation. Indeed, Allah the Exalted expands the provision for whom He wills and restricts it. The man who committed a sin with his family in Ramadan came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to seek a ruling on what was obligatory for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed him that it was obligatory for him to free a slave, and if he could not find one, to fast two consecutive months, and if he could not do that, to feed sixty poor people. The man said all of this: I cannot do it. Then the man sat down, and dates were brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). He said:Mishkat al-Masabih 2004 This man described himself as being poorer than any household before the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and he did not say anything to him. Therefore, it is obligatory that if you are given money for the poor, you distribute it to others. If you are eligible, you should say to the one who gave it to you: Is there anyone more deserving than us? As this man said: There is no household between its two banks poorer than me. There is no blame on you for this, and regarding what happened from you before, inform now the one who gave it to you that you took it considering that you were eligible for it and trusting that those who gave it to you do not object to what you did with it. In my strong opinion, if you inform them, they will forgive you for what has passed and will take your account into consideration in the future, and you will be on clear evidence and proof.
And on this occasion, I say: It is not permissible for the agent, the guardian, the executor, or the overseer to dispose of what is in their charge in a way that includes a benefit for themselves. The agent is the one who acts on behalf of a person with his permission during his lifetime, such as if I appoint a person to buy a car for me, and he registers the car in my name and gives it to me without informing me of the reality; this is forbidden for him. Or if a person gives me coins and appoints me to distribute them to the poor, and I am poor, and I take from them without my permission; this is forbidden for him, because if I had wanted, I would have said: Take it, or I would have said: Take this and distribute it to the poor, and if you are in need, take this. This is the agent.
The executor is the one to whom the bequest is entrusted after the death of the testator, such as if he says: One-third of my estate is for so-and-so. This man, who is the executor, is not allowed to take anything from the money for which he is the executor, even as a loan. Some people are ignorant of this matter; if he has the money of the one-third in his hand and he needs it, he takes a loan from it to return it. This is forbidden, even if he is confident in himself that he will return it, because he does not know about the future; circumstances may change and he may become poor, or he may die and the right of the testator be lost.
As for the overseer, he is the one who manages the endowment, such as if a person says: I have endowed this house, and he mentions the purpose for which he endowed it, and then says: And the overseer is so-and-so. This overseer is not allowed to dispose of this endowment in anything that includes a benefit for him, because he is a trustee.
As for the guardian, who is the fourth of those who dispose of the money of others, he is the guardian of the orphan, the spendthrift, or something similar. This one is also not allowed to dispose of the money of the one for whom he is the guardian for his own benefit. If the guardian of the orphan says: I have ten thousand riyals for these orphans, and I am in need of five thousand riyals to borrow them and return them, we say: This is forbidden for you and not permissible.
And on this occasion, I would like to guide my brothers the scribes who write wills, because many of them say in their writing: So-and-so bequeaths one-third of his wealth to be spent on such and such and such, and the agent is so-and-so. If we take this phrase at its apparent meaning, the bequest would be invalid when the testator dies, because if the principal dies, the agent is released from the agency. But we know that the scribe intended by his saying "and the agent is so-and-so" the executor. Therefore, the scribes who write wills should say: And the executor of the one-third is so-and-bin so-and-so, instead of "and the agent," because this is the precise formulation that matches what the scholars of jurisprudence mentioned and also matches the reality of the situation.
We mention the summary, and the summary is that it is not permissible for a person to dispose of what he has been appointed to in a way that includes a benefit for himself. So if a person is given money for the poor and he is poor, he does not take from it except after the permission of the one who gave him the money.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Yes, there is a sin on you for this, because it is obligatory that you tell the truth, and there is no harm for a person to explain his situation. Indeed, Allah the Exalted expands the provision for whom He wills and restricts it. The man who committed a sin with his family in Ramadan came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to seek a ruling on what was obligatory for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed him that it was obligatory for him to free a slave, and if he could not find one, to fast two consecutive months, and if he could not do that, to feed sixty poor people. The man said all of this: I cannot do it. Then the man sat down, and dates were brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). He said:
"Take this and give it as sadaqa ." The man replied, “Am I to give it to one who is poorer than I am, messenger of God? I swear by God that there is no poorer family than mine between the two lava plains of Medina," i.e. the two harras . The Prophet thereupon laughed so that his eye-teeth became visible and said, "Give it to your family to eat."
خذ هذا تصدق به، فقال: أعلى أفقر مني؟ فوالله يا رسول الله ما بين لابتيها أهل بيت أفقر مني، فضحك النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى بدت أنيابه، ثم قال: أطعمه أهلكAnd on this occasion, I say: It is not permissible for the agent, the guardian, the executor, or the overseer to dispose of what is in their charge in a way that includes a benefit for themselves. The agent is the one who acts on behalf of a person with his permission during his lifetime, such as if I appoint a person to buy a car for me, and he registers the car in my name and gives it to me without informing me of the reality; this is forbidden for him. Or if a person gives me coins and appoints me to distribute them to the poor, and I am poor, and I take from them without my permission; this is forbidden for him, because if I had wanted, I would have said: Take it, or I would have said: Take this and distribute it to the poor, and if you are in need, take this. This is the agent.
The executor is the one to whom the bequest is entrusted after the death of the testator, such as if he says: One-third of my estate is for so-and-so. This man, who is the executor, is not allowed to take anything from the money for which he is the executor, even as a loan. Some people are ignorant of this matter; if he has the money of the one-third in his hand and he needs it, he takes a loan from it to return it. This is forbidden, even if he is confident in himself that he will return it, because he does not know about the future; circumstances may change and he may become poor, or he may die and the right of the testator be lost.
As for the overseer, he is the one who manages the endowment, such as if a person says: I have endowed this house, and he mentions the purpose for which he endowed it, and then says: And the overseer is so-and-so. This overseer is not allowed to dispose of this endowment in anything that includes a benefit for him, because he is a trustee.
As for the guardian, who is the fourth of those who dispose of the money of others, he is the guardian of the orphan, the spendthrift, or something similar. This one is also not allowed to dispose of the money of the one for whom he is the guardian for his own benefit. If the guardian of the orphan says: I have ten thousand riyals for these orphans, and I am in need of five thousand riyals to borrow them and return them, we say: This is forbidden for you and not permissible.
And on this occasion, I would like to guide my brothers the scribes who write wills, because many of them say in their writing: So-and-so bequeaths one-third of his wealth to be spent on such and such and such, and the agent is so-and-so. If we take this phrase at its apparent meaning, the bequest would be invalid when the testator dies, because if the principal dies, the agent is released from the agency. But we know that the scribe intended by his saying "and the agent is so-and-so" the executor. Therefore, the scribes who write wills should say: And the executor of the one-third is so-and-bin so-and-so, instead of "and the agent," because this is the precise formulation that matches what the scholars of jurisprudence mentioned and also matches the reality of the situation.
We mention the summary, and the summary is that it is not permissible for a person to dispose of what he has been appointed to in a way that includes a benefit for himself. So if a person is given money for the poor and he is poor, he does not take from it except after the permission of the one who gave him the money.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.