Are relatives and family members, such as an uncle or aunt, required to be given zakah, and are they among the eight categories?
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The questioner : Are relatives and family members, such as an uncle or aunt, required to be given from the zakah? And are they among the eight categories?
The Shaykh : The eight categories are the poor, the needy, those who work on the collection of alms, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, those in bondage, those in debt, those in the cause of Allah, and the wayfarer. So, if your uncles, or the sons of your uncles, or the sons of your brothers, or the sons of your sisters are among those eligible for zakah according to the descriptions mentioned by Allah (Mighty and Majestic), there is no blame on you in giving them from the zakah.
However, if they are not so, meaning if they are wealthy and have no need for zakah, then you do not give to them. Kinship is not a reason for entitlement to zakah; rather, the reason, or the reasons, is what Allah mentioned in Surat al-Bayyinah.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : The eight categories are the poor, the needy, those who work on the collection of alms, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, those in bondage, those in debt, those in the cause of Allah, and the wayfarer. So, if your uncles, or the sons of your uncles, or the sons of your brothers, or the sons of your sisters are among those eligible for zakah according to the descriptions mentioned by Allah (Mighty and Majestic), there is no blame on you in giving them from the zakah.
However, if they are not so, meaning if they are wealthy and have no need for zakah, then you do not give to them. Kinship is not a reason for entitlement to zakah; rather, the reason, or the reasons, is what Allah mentioned in Surat al-Bayyinah.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.