Is it permissible to dig a well for the poor from zakah funds?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: In the same ...
The Shaykh : ... Go ahead.
The questioner: A man comes to us and actually says, "I have zakah money. I want to use it to dig a well for the poor in Africa." He asks us if that is permissible.
The Shaykh: Tell him to bring money that is not zakah from what you have, and we will dig it for you with that. As for this zakah, its ownership belongs to the poor. Or, appoint us as your agents to give it to the poor. That is, you should note, Mr. Tariq, the meaning of transferring ownership. This is the zakah.
The Shaykh : ... Go ahead.
The questioner: A man comes to us and actually says, "I have zakah money. I want to use it to dig a well for the poor in Africa." He asks us if that is permissible.
The Shaykh: Tell him to bring money that is not zakah from what you have, and we will dig it for you with that. As for this zakah, its ownership belongs to the poor. Or, appoint us as your agents to give it to the poor. That is, you should note, Mr. Tariq, the meaning of transferring ownership. This is the zakah.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.