What is the ruling on taking zakah for orphans, even if they are not poor? And is it permissible to use it to repair a house for them?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : I have orphans for whom I am the guardian. Their father passed away several years ago. Their monthly income from the pension is about three thousand five hundred riyals. Over these years, I have accumulated large sums, including about one hundred and fifty thousand in zakah. Should I refrain from taking zakah for them? What should I do with the zakah I have? If they have a crumbling house with a mortgage of two hundred and forty thousand from the Real Estate Development Fund, should I pay off the deceased's debt from this amount? And if they have land from the municipality, should we register it from these funds, or not?
The Shaykh : First: It is not permissible for you to take zakah for them while they have what makes them self-sufficient, because zakah is for the poor and the needy, not for orphans. What you have taken, given their wealth, you must return to its owners if you know them. If you do not know them, you should give it in charity on their behalf with the intention of zakah for them, because you took it with the intention of zakah from them.
As for the money you have accumulated from the pension, do what you see is best, as He Blessed and Exalted is He said:[Al-An'am 6:152].
As for the debt to the Real Estate Development Fund, you know that it is deferred and paid in installments. You pay according to its installments, and the deceased is free of it, except for the installments that the deceased did not pay while they were due during his lifetime; these must be paid. As for the installments that did not become due until after the deceased's death, the deceased is free of them, because they are tied to the property itself, and the property has passed from him to the ownership of the heirs, so they are the ones responsible for it.
The questioner : So, what is paid to the fund from the zakah?
The Shaykh : What is paid to the fund is not from the zakah, because they have money from which it can be paid.
The questioner : I wish, O Shaykh, that you would provide details, because many of those who pay zakah take it and give it to those who do not deserve it.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : They give it to those who do not deserve it.
The Shaykh : Yes, here we say that if a person pays zakah to someone who does not deserve it, it does not clear his conscience, because Allah the Exalted commanded giving zakah to specific categories and said:[At-Tawbah 9:60] We are not wiser than Allah, nor more knowledgeable than Allah. He has obligated us to pay it to these eight categories. If we distribute it to other than the eight categories, it is not valid and does not clear the conscience. Whoever pays it to someone who does not deserve it is like one who prays before its time; it is not accepted from him, and he will be held accountable for it on the Day of Resurrection as one who did not pay zakah. Yes.
The Shaykh : First: It is not permissible for you to take zakah for them while they have what makes them self-sufficient, because zakah is for the poor and the needy, not for orphans. What you have taken, given their wealth, you must return to its owners if you know them. If you do not know them, you should give it in charity on their behalf with the intention of zakah for them, because you took it with the intention of zakah from them.
As for the money you have accumulated from the pension, do what you see is best, as He Blessed and Exalted is He said:
And do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best
وَلا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُAs for the debt to the Real Estate Development Fund, you know that it is deferred and paid in installments. You pay according to its installments, and the deceased is free of it, except for the installments that the deceased did not pay while they were due during his lifetime; these must be paid. As for the installments that did not become due until after the deceased's death, the deceased is free of them, because they are tied to the property itself, and the property has passed from him to the ownership of the heirs, so they are the ones responsible for it.
The questioner : So, what is paid to the fund from the zakah?
The Shaykh : What is paid to the fund is not from the zakah, because they have money from which it can be paid.
The questioner : I wish, O Shaykh, that you would provide details, because many of those who pay zakah take it and give it to those who do not deserve it.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : They give it to those who do not deserve it.
The Shaykh : Yes, here we say that if a person pays zakah to someone who does not deserve it, it does not clear his conscience, because Allah the Exalted commanded giving zakah to specific categories and said: