If a person collects donations, is it permissible for him to set aside a portion of them to invest in a project to grow these donations for the same purpose for which the donations were collected?
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The questioner : Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Shaykh, some young men wanted to undertake a charitable project, so they collected donations. After collecting the donations, they realized that, with Allah's permission, these donations would run out. So they said: We will take a portion of these donations to spend on what we collected them for, and set aside a portion to build up capital with which we will establish a project. The income from this project will go toward the same purpose for which the original funds were collected. Is it permissible for them to save this money without permission, since the original purpose defined why the money was to be collected? Is it permissible to save this money for this project, and to undertake a project that may involve loss or may involve profit?
The Shaykh : Yes, if a person collects donations for a specific purpose, it is obligatory for him to spend them on that specific purpose, and he may not spend them on anything else unless he is given discretion in the matter or seeks permission. Let us give an example: a person collects for Somalia, and they collect a large amount of money. They say: It is possible that we can take half of what we collected to renovate buildings or buy shops so that their income can be used for these people and continue. We say: This is not permissible, because the purpose of collecting the money is to meet the needs of those who are currently present.
As for those who are not yet present, we did not collect for them. Also, it is possible that we will be prevented from delivering this money to them in the future. We do not know whether this is something that can be achieved in the future or not.
Furthermore, doing so would also be an injustice to those who are currently present. Meeting the urgent needs of those who are present requires that we give them what we collected for them. However, if the matter is delegated to you or you seek permission, then there is nothing wrong with it.
Shaykh, some young men wanted to undertake a charitable project, so they collected donations. After collecting the donations, they realized that, with Allah's permission, these donations would run out. So they said: We will take a portion of these donations to spend on what we collected them for, and set aside a portion to build up capital with which we will establish a project. The income from this project will go toward the same purpose for which the original funds were collected. Is it permissible for them to save this money without permission, since the original purpose defined why the money was to be collected? Is it permissible to save this money for this project, and to undertake a project that may involve loss or may involve profit?
The Shaykh : Yes, if a person collects donations for a specific purpose, it is obligatory for him to spend them on that specific purpose, and he may not spend them on anything else unless he is given discretion in the matter or seeks permission. Let us give an example: a person collects for Somalia, and they collect a large amount of money. They say: It is possible that we can take half of what we collected to renovate buildings or buy shops so that their income can be used for these people and continue. We say: This is not permissible, because the purpose of collecting the money is to meet the needs of those who are currently present.
As for those who are not yet present, we did not collect for them. Also, it is possible that we will be prevented from delivering this money to them in the future. We do not know whether this is something that can be achieved in the future or not.
Furthermore, doing so would also be an injustice to those who are currently present. Meeting the urgent needs of those who are present requires that we give them what we collected for them. However, if the matter is delegated to you or you seek permission, then there is nothing wrong with it.