Some women sit with the vendors and poverty is apparent on them; is it permissible to give them from the zakah?
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The questioner : There are some women who sit with the vendors and poverty is apparent on them; is it permissible to give them from the zakah?
The Shaykh : With vendors of what?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, it is permissible for a person to give his financial zakah and zakat al-fitr to one whom he believes to be among the recipients of zakah, even if it later appears that he is not among the recipients of zakah. The zakah is accepted. The evidence for this is the hadith reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about a man who went out with his charity and gave it in charity. The people began to talk, saying, "He gave charity last night to a rich man." The man who gave charity said, "Praise be to Allah, [that it went] to a rich man," as if he thought the charity had not been accepted. Then he went out with his charity the second night and gave it in charity, and it ended up in the hand of a thief. The people began to talk, saying, "He gave charity last night to a thief." He said, "Praise be to Allah, [that it went] to a thief." Then he went out the third night with his charity and gave it, and it ended up in the hand of a woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse. The people began to talk, saying, "He gave charity last night to a woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse." The man became distressed because his charity had ended up in the hand of a rich man, a thief, and a woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse. It was said to this man, "As for your charity, it has been accepted. As for the rich man, perhaps he will take a lesson and give charity. As for the thief, perhaps he will become self-sufficient and stop stealing. And as for the woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse, perhaps she will take a lesson and become chaste regarding unlawful sexual intercourse." In this hadith, there is evidence that if a man gives his charity to one whom he believes to be among the recipients of zakah, it suffices for him, even if it later becomes clear to him that he is not among the recipients of zakah. Based on this principle, which is considered a facilitation from the Shari'ah, we say: if you buy zakat al-fitr and give it to those around the vendors who are seeking it, there is no blame on you for that. Yes.
The Shaykh : With vendors of what?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, it is permissible for a person to give his financial zakah and zakat al-fitr to one whom he believes to be among the recipients of zakah, even if it later appears that he is not among the recipients of zakah. The zakah is accepted. The evidence for this is the hadith reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about a man who went out with his charity and gave it in charity. The people began to talk, saying, "He gave charity last night to a rich man." The man who gave charity said, "Praise be to Allah, [that it went] to a rich man," as if he thought the charity had not been accepted. Then he went out with his charity the second night and gave it in charity, and it ended up in the hand of a thief. The people began to talk, saying, "He gave charity last night to a thief." He said, "Praise be to Allah, [that it went] to a thief." Then he went out the third night with his charity and gave it, and it ended up in the hand of a woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse. The people began to talk, saying, "He gave charity last night to a woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse." The man became distressed because his charity had ended up in the hand of a rich man, a thief, and a woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse. It was said to this man, "As for your charity, it has been accepted. As for the rich man, perhaps he will take a lesson and give charity. As for the thief, perhaps he will become self-sufficient and stop stealing. And as for the woman who commits unlawful sexual intercourse, perhaps she will take a lesson and become chaste regarding unlawful sexual intercourse." In this hadith, there is evidence that if a man gives his charity to one whom he believes to be among the recipients of zakah, it suffices for him, even if it later becomes clear to him that he is not among the recipients of zakah. Based on this principle, which is considered a facilitation from the Shari'ah, we say: if you buy zakat al-fitr and give it to those around the vendors who are seeking it, there is no blame on you for that. Yes.