I built a building and donated half of the ground floor as a mosque?
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The questioner : This questioner, the engineer Muhammad Fahmy, is of Egyptian nationality. He says: "May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. I am in a comfortable financial situation, and Allah has blessed me with many favors, including the favor of Islam. I then built a building in the Arab Republic of Egypt and donated half of the ground floor as a mosque. Now, I wish to establish this mosque with carpets, electricity, water, and other necessities. At the same time, I have zakah on my wealth that I must pay on my surplus funds. For the past three years, I have withheld a portion of this zakah for the purpose of establishing this mosque and purchasing what it requires. The question, O honorable Shaykh Muhammad, is: Is it permissible to allocate a large portion of the zakah funds to establish this mosque? Second, is my withholding of a portion of the zakah from previous years a violation of the Shari'ah? Third, if we generalize the issue, is it permissible to pay out a portion of the zakah for the construction of the mosque, schools, or hospitals under the category of 'in the cause of Allah'? And finally, what should I do? May Allah bless you and benefit the Muslims with you, and may Allah reward you with the best reward for the Muslims."
The Shaykh : I say: May Allah bless my brother the questioner in his wealth and in what he spends from it. I give him good news that it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whoever builds a house for Allah, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.
And I answer his three questions by stating that building mosques, furnishing mosques, and lighting them are not to be paid out from zakah, because the recipients of zakah are limited to eight categories that Allah specified in His saying:[At-Tawbah 9:60] Therefore, what he has saved from his past zakah for building this mosque, furnishing it, and providing for its needs must now be paid out to the recipients of zakah whom Allah the Exalted mentioned in the verse we read earlier.
And I hope that he does not bear sin for delaying the payment of the zakah for the past years, because he did so based on his own ijtihad (independent legal reasoning). I wish he had asked before doing so, so that his action would be based on knowledge and insight. This is the answer to the second question.
As for the third question, which is the broader and more general meaning, namely whether "in the cause of Allah" includes spending on everything that brings one closer to Allah, such as building mosques, schools, printing books, and so on? My answer to this question is that it does not include this. "In the cause of Allah" is specific to jihad in the cause of Allah, which is that a person fights so that the word of Allah is the supreme word. Therefore, zakah is paid to the mujahideen (those striving in the cause of Allah) in the cause of Allah, and zakah is paid for purchasing weapons for the mujahideen in the cause of Allah. I have included with this the scholars who have devoted themselves to seeking religious knowledge and are capable of earning a living; they are given from the zakah because seeking religious knowledge is part of jihad in the cause of Allah. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : I say: May Allah bless my brother the questioner in his wealth and in what he spends from it. I give him good news that it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whoever builds a house for Allah, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.
And I answer his three questions by stating that building mosques, furnishing mosques, and lighting them are not to be paid out from zakah, because the recipients of zakah are limited to eight categories that Allah specified in His saying:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقاتُ لِلفُقَراءِ وَالمَساكينِ وَالعامِلينَ عَلَيها وَالمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلوبُهُم وَفِي الرِّقابِ وَالغارِمينَ وَفي سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَابنِ السَّبيلِ فَريضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَليمٌ حَكيمٌAnd I hope that he does not bear sin for delaying the payment of the zakah for the past years, because he did so based on his own ijtihad (independent legal reasoning). I wish he had asked before doing so, so that his action would be based on knowledge and insight. This is the answer to the second question.
As for the third question, which is the broader and more general meaning, namely whether "in the cause of Allah" includes spending on everything that brings one closer to Allah, such as building mosques, schools, printing books, and so on? My answer to this question is that it does not include this. "In the cause of Allah" is specific to jihad in the cause of Allah, which is that a person fights so that the word of Allah is the supreme word. Therefore, zakah is paid to the mujahideen (those striving in the cause of Allah) in the cause of Allah, and zakah is paid for purchasing weapons for the mujahideen in the cause of Allah. I have included with this the scholars who have devoted themselves to seeking religious knowledge and are capable of earning a living; they are given from the zakah because seeking religious knowledge is part of jihad in the cause of Allah. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.