Collecting Zakat al-Fitr in cash from people, then calling the Mujahideen Services Office by phone to inform them, and they reply that they buy rice with this money
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The questioner : Noble Shaykh, we collect Zakat al-Fitr in cash from people, then we call the Mujahideen Services Office by phone to inform them, and they reply that they buy rice with this money, for example, and distribute it on the night of the festival to the families of the mujahideen and martyrs. Is this action valid?
The Shaykh : No, this action is not valid, and it is not permissible to transfer Zakat al-Fitr to a country other than the one in which the fasting person resides, unless there is no needy person in that country, in which case there is no harm. However, as long as there is a needy person in the country, it is not permissible to transfer it, neither to the mujahideen nor to anyone else. Furthermore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that Zakat al-Fitr be paid out as a sa' of barley or a sa' of dates, and in the hadith of Abu Sa'id, they pay it out as a sa' of food. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that it be paid out as a sa' of food. A person should pay it out himself and be reassured about it. As for giving dirhams and appointing someone to pay it out, the principle of appointing an agent to pay it out is permissible. But the problem is that it is in a country other than yours, and Zakat al-Fitr is to be paid out in the local country. Similarly, regarding the 'Id sacrifice, some people neglect the sacrifice and spend it outside the country. This is also an error, because the sacrifice is one of the rituals of Islam. A person should publicize it in his country. For this reason, you find that Allah prescribed it for those other than the people of Makkah, meaning for those other than the pilgrims, so that they may participate with the pilgrims in this ritual. So giving dirhams to be spent abroad is contrary to the Sunnah. Then, opening the door for donating to jihad with zakat, sacrifices, and Islamic rituals, I hold that there is an error in this from an educational perspective. Let people pay out their money to donate to jihad itself, not in order to perform their zakat for jihad. Leave the zakat for its rightful recipients who are with you, and open the door for people and encourage them to donate to jihad with their money other than zakat. Because if you say "perform your zakat for jihad," people will perform their zakat for the mujahid and not help for the rest of the year. But if you say "help the mujahideen with money at all times, whether in the time of zakat or not," you have opened for them participation in jihad, and no one is unaware of the virtue of jihad with the self and the virtue of jihad with money. As for accustoming people to stinginess and saying "spend the obligatory things and leave the donation which is considered voluntary," I hold that this requires consideration from an educational perspective.
The Shaykh : No, this action is not valid, and it is not permissible to transfer Zakat al-Fitr to a country other than the one in which the fasting person resides, unless there is no needy person in that country, in which case there is no harm. However, as long as there is a needy person in the country, it is not permissible to transfer it, neither to the mujahideen nor to anyone else. Furthermore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that Zakat al-Fitr be paid out as a sa' of barley or a sa' of dates, and in the hadith of Abu Sa'id, they pay it out as a sa' of food. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that it be paid out as a sa' of food. A person should pay it out himself and be reassured about it. As for giving dirhams and appointing someone to pay it out, the principle of appointing an agent to pay it out is permissible. But the problem is that it is in a country other than yours, and Zakat al-Fitr is to be paid out in the local country. Similarly, regarding the 'Id sacrifice, some people neglect the sacrifice and spend it outside the country. This is also an error, because the sacrifice is one of the rituals of Islam. A person should publicize it in his country. For this reason, you find that Allah prescribed it for those other than the people of Makkah, meaning for those other than the pilgrims, so that they may participate with the pilgrims in this ritual. So giving dirhams to be spent abroad is contrary to the Sunnah. Then, opening the door for donating to jihad with zakat, sacrifices, and Islamic rituals, I hold that there is an error in this from an educational perspective. Let people pay out their money to donate to jihad itself, not in order to perform their zakat for jihad. Leave the zakat for its rightful recipients who are with you, and open the door for people and encourage them to donate to jihad with their money other than zakat. Because if you say "perform your zakat for jihad," people will perform their zakat for the mujahid and not help for the rest of the year. But if you say "help the mujahideen with money at all times, whether in the time of zakat or not," you have opened for them participation in jihad, and no one is unaware of the virtue of jihad with the self and the virtue of jihad with money. As for accustoming people to stinginess and saying "spend the obligatory things and leave the donation which is considered voluntary," I hold that this requires consideration from an educational perspective.