A woman who is eligible for zakah: Is it permissible to buy a sewing machine with zakah funds?
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The questioner : A woman who is eligible for zakah.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : A woman who is eligible for zakah, meaning she is entitled to receive zakah, works as a seamstress or does sewing for clothes. Is it permissible to buy her a sewing machine with the money intended for zakah, or should the money be given to her and she can dispose of it as she wishes?
The Shaykh : You mean this poor woman works in sewing?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As long as sewing provides her with sufficient livelihood, it is not permissible to give her [the machine]. However, if it is assumed that the machines she uses for sewing were bought on credit and she has a debt for their price, and she is unable to pay off the debt, then there is no harm in paying off her debt. On this occasion, I would like to point out two things:
The first thing is that, unfortunately, we see that people are being lax in their religion. They are completely lax in their religion, especially the young people among them. This portends a great danger of economic collapse in the country, because if half the people remain in debt, it means the issue will remain a great problem. It is not permissible for a person to be lax about debt, nor to borrow except in cases of dire necessity. The evidence is: listen, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to refuse to pray over a funeral if the deceased had a debt. In fact, on one day a funeral from the Ansar was brought to him, so he took a few steps forward and then stopped and said:Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 5:1205. He did not pray over him until Abu Qatadah stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the two dinars are on me." He said: Bulugh al-Maram 7:120 He said: Yes. So he stepped forward and prayed.
Second: A woman offered herself to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he did not desire her. So a man stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, if you have no need of her, give her to me in marriage." He said:. The man did not have a cloak. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The man went and found nothing. Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) tell him to borrow? To take a loan? Absolutely not. He said: Mishkat al-Masabih 3202. This indicates the gravity of debt. Now, unfortunately, you find a young man who has only a small salary, yet he buys the most luxurious cars. He might buy a car, meaning according to his circumstances, for twenty or thirty thousand. But he does not go and buy one for how much? How much, my brothers? For a hundred thousand, for seventy thousand, for eighty thousand. Why? All of this is wrong. Also, some people have a house. The house has furniture in the places that need furniture, and air conditioners in the places that need air conditioning. But he does not want to furnish the entire house. And here is the decor. And here is the carpet for the stairs. This is wrong, my brothers. Debt is not a trivial matter. Debt is difficult. And when a person dies, it was reported in the hadith: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1078Hasan (Darussalam). And who guarantees that when he dies, the heirs will pay off his debt, even from the deceased's estate? Many heirs do not care; they are lax. This is a problem, and I hope, may Allah bless you, that you resolve it and do not take on debt except in cases of dire necessity.
As for the second issue: It is well known that the debtors, meaning I mean those who are in debt, have their debts paid from zakah. So if you know that this man has a debt of one thousand riyals and is unable to pay it off, pay it off from zakah. But how? You have two ways in this: The first way is to give him the thousand and say, "Take this thousand and pay off your debt." The second way is to go to the creditor and say, "O so-and-so, you are demanding one thousand riyals from so-and-so; here is one thousand riyals." Which is better? The first or the second? There is a detail: If this debtor is careful about paying off the debt, and you know that if you give him this money to pay the debt, he will go and pay it off, then it is better to give it to him. But if he is lax, and you fear that if you give him the thousand to pay the debt, he will go and buy unnecessary luxuries with it, then go to the creditor and say to him, "O so-and-so, you are demanding so much from so-and-so; this is his debt." Yes.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : A woman who is eligible for zakah, meaning she is entitled to receive zakah, works as a seamstress or does sewing for clothes. Is it permissible to buy her a sewing machine with the money intended for zakah, or should the money be given to her and she can dispose of it as she wishes?
The Shaykh : You mean this poor woman works in sewing?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As long as sewing provides her with sufficient livelihood, it is not permissible to give her [the machine]. However, if it is assumed that the machines she uses for sewing were bought on credit and she has a debt for their price, and she is unable to pay off the debt, then there is no harm in paying off her debt. On this occasion, I would like to point out two things:
The first thing is that, unfortunately, we see that people are being lax in their religion. They are completely lax in their religion, especially the young people among them. This portends a great danger of economic collapse in the country, because if half the people remain in debt, it means the issue will remain a great problem. It is not permissible for a person to be lax about debt, nor to borrow except in cases of dire necessity. The evidence is: listen, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to refuse to pray over a funeral if the deceased had a debt. In fact, on one day a funeral from the Ansar was brought to him, so he took a few steps forward and then stopped and said:
Did he have a debt? They said, Yes, he had two dinars of debt. So he said, Pray over your companion.
هل عليه دين قالوا نعم عليه ديناران فقال صلوا على صاحبكم[Will you be responsible for paying them as] a right to the creditor; and the dead man will then be free from them?
حق الغريم وبرئ منه الميت؟Second: A woman offered herself to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he did not desire her. So a man stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, if you have no need of her, give her to me in marriage." He said:
Do you have anything for the mahr? He said, Yes, I have my wrap.
معك شيء صداقا؟ قال نعم معي إزاريHow can your wrap be a mahr for her? If you give her the wrap, you will remain naked, and if it remains on you, she will not receive the mahr. Seek, even if it is just an iron ring.
كيف يكون إزارك مهرا لها إن أعطيتها الإزار بقيت أنت عاريا وإن بقي عليك لم يحصل لها المهر التمس - دور - التمس ولو خاتما من حديدhe said, “I have given you her in marriage for the part of the Qur’an which you know.”
هل معك شيئا من القرآن؟ قال نعم. قال : زوجتكها بما معك من القرآنThe believer's soul is suspended by his debt until it is settled for him.
أن نفس المؤمن معلقة بدينه حتى يقضى عنهAs for the second issue: It is well known that the debtors, meaning I mean those who are in debt, have their debts paid from zakah. So if you know that this man has a debt of one thousand riyals and is unable to pay it off, pay it off from zakah. But how? You have two ways in this: The first way is to give him the thousand and say, "Take this thousand and pay off your debt." The second way is to go to the creditor and say, "O so-and-so, you are demanding one thousand riyals from so-and-so; here is one thousand riyals." Which is better? The first or the second? There is a detail: If this debtor is careful about paying off the debt, and you know that if you give him this money to pay the debt, he will go and pay it off, then it is better to give it to him. But if he is lax, and you fear that if you give him the thousand to pay the debt, he will go and buy unnecessary luxuries with it, then go to the creditor and say to him, "O so-and-so, you are demanding so much from so-and-so; this is his debt." Yes.