These volunteers who collect alms in reality do not usually distinguish between zakah and voluntary alms, and then they take from those alms for...
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The questioner : One... in-kind items, meaning sometimes clothes, rice, sugar, flour, dried meats, canned goods. Then the donors do not say that it is zakah or alms; in fact, even the one who collects does not know what the donor intended. He tells you, "This is a donation in most cases, or alms for the poor, distribute it according to your knowledge." So in most cases, it is difficult to truly distinguish the donor's intention, whether he intended it as zakah or as alms. And items usually come as alms, because most donors are not farmers. Even the rice they buy is purchased; it does not have a rice farmer, for example. They buy it from the shops and bring it as is. After distribution to the poor, there may be a surplus, for example, one or two bags of rice. I wanted to be precise, meaning after the needs of all the studied, specified, and known families for the committee are met, and there is a surplus of a bag, some of the volunteer brothers may need some rice, so they are given a small amount, meaning the amount of their need, that is, for his family, he and his children. For example, he is not given a bag to dispose of for his entire tribe. He is given this. Clothes come, and after distribution to the poor, there may remain, for example, a small shirt or... it is given to his small son in school or something like that. So these are very small things, and the need is estimated according to its size. And some of the brothers truly abstain, but the committee says everyone knows their own need best. If you, as a committee member, the volunteer worker, see that you have a need after it exceeds the need of the poor and the needy, it is given proportionally. So is this action Shari'ah-compliant or not?
The Shaykh : Your answer has two branches, each of which needs an answer. The first branch is your statement that it is difficult to distinguish whether this is obligatory alms or voluntary alms. The other branch is that something from the surplus is distributed to some members of the committee. In answer to the first issue, we say that this difficulty, when the committee adopts the Shari'ah ruling we mentioned earlier, they will feel the necessity of knowing the types of these categories so that each alms is placed in its prescribed place. So when a person comes with money in cash, which is usually zakah on wealth, and it is not so in the examples you gave, for example, this might be voluntary alms. Is it very easy to clarify this with the person in a polite phrase so that he does not feel embarrassed? You tell him, "My brother, we have two boxes to implement the Shari'ah ruling. One box we distribute to the poor hand to hand, and it is obligatory zakah. And a box for voluntary zakah. So that we know which box to put the money you have generously given in, box number one or box number two. It will be clear to you then, and in his mind, this image can be placed in the appropriate box. Is this clear?
The questioner : This, my sir, this... if this matter is easy in dealing with bank transfers, we... the zakah here in the restaurant, we have two separate accounts, an account for zakah in Amman and an account for alms... this facilitates donations that come via external transfers directly to the bank, fax via postal dealing.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : Three. But when we stand in front of the mosque and you have a thousand or two thousand worshippers.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And you say, for example, "Give from yourselves for yourselves to the poor and the needy"
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : So some pay half a dinar or ten qirsh, and some pay twenty dinars or fifty dinars.
The Shaykh : Fine.
The questioner : And sometimes they are pushing each other, so how do you clarify with each one, asking him, "This that you threw in..."
The questioner : ...[Al-Baqarah 2:286] Now you have brought some differing examples. One is paying half a dinar, and another is paying twenty dinars. This one is paying half a dinar; it does not occur to the receiver's mind
The questioner : that it is zakah.
The Shaykh : that it is obligatory, but on the contrary, this one is paying twenty dinars, and there is a strong possibility that it is zakah on wealth. So that one and those like him are left
The questioner : and asked.
The Shaykh : Asked is that one for whom it is most likely to be obligatory zakah. And with this, we have finished answering the question or the first branch. The second branch is easy, because we said it is not permissible to give the worker a salary or pension. But when the same worker is poor, he needs alms, and he does not abstain from it, as you pointed out that some of them abstain. So they are given, and perhaps they are more deserving of it.
The questioner : He is given as a poor person, not as a worker.
The Shaykh : Yes, you have done well. This is it, and with that the matter ends.
The questioner : The limits of poverty, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Everyone for whom zakah is not obligatory is poor. Please.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. In the clarity of the mind, it revolves.
The Shaykh : Your answer has two branches, each of which needs an answer. The first branch is your statement that it is difficult to distinguish whether this is obligatory alms or voluntary alms. The other branch is that something from the surplus is distributed to some members of the committee. In answer to the first issue, we say that this difficulty, when the committee adopts the Shari'ah ruling we mentioned earlier, they will feel the necessity of knowing the types of these categories so that each alms is placed in its prescribed place. So when a person comes with money in cash, which is usually zakah on wealth, and it is not so in the examples you gave, for example, this might be voluntary alms. Is it very easy to clarify this with the person in a polite phrase so that he does not feel embarrassed? You tell him, "My brother, we have two boxes to implement the Shari'ah ruling. One box we distribute to the poor hand to hand, and it is obligatory zakah. And a box for voluntary zakah. So that we know which box to put the money you have generously given in, box number one or box number two. It will be clear to you then, and in his mind, this image can be placed in the appropriate box. Is this clear?
The questioner : This, my sir, this... if this matter is easy in dealing with bank transfers, we... the zakah here in the restaurant, we have two separate accounts, an account for zakah in Amman and an account for alms... this facilitates donations that come via external transfers directly to the bank, fax via postal dealing.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : Three. But when we stand in front of the mosque and you have a thousand or two thousand worshippers.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And you say, for example, "Give from yourselves for yourselves to the poor and the needy"
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : So some pay half a dinar or ten qirsh, and some pay twenty dinars or fifty dinars.
The Shaykh : Fine.
The questioner : And sometimes they are pushing each other, so how do you clarify with each one, asking him, "This that you threw in..."
The questioner : ...
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يكلف الناس نفسا إلا وسعهاThe questioner : that it is zakah.
The Shaykh : that it is obligatory, but on the contrary, this one is paying twenty dinars, and there is a strong possibility that it is zakah on wealth. So that one and those like him are left
The questioner : and asked.
The Shaykh : Asked is that one for whom it is most likely to be obligatory zakah. And with this, we have finished answering the question or the first branch. The second branch is easy, because we said it is not permissible to give the worker a salary or pension. But when the same worker is poor, he needs alms, and he does not abstain from it, as you pointed out that some of them abstain. So they are given, and perhaps they are more deserving of it.
The questioner : He is given as a poor person, not as a worker.
The Shaykh : Yes, you have done well. This is it, and with that the matter ends.
The questioner : The limits of poverty, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Everyone for whom zakah is not obligatory is poor. Please.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. In the clarity of the mind, it revolves.