What is the ruling on establishing charitable associations?

The questioner : There is an issue regarding charitable associations. Some of the students of knowledge, among the active Salafis, formed an association called the Yemeni Wisdom Association. It focuses on distributing books and charitable aid to people, especially to students of knowledge. Then they were told that this is a type of partisanship. They want to know your opinion on that. May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : I do not believe that such a gathering and congregation has any relation to the hateful partisanship in Islam. Rather, this falls under what Allah the Exalted said in the Noble Qur'an: . This association only becomes partisan if the poor and needy are excluded from it, while those who are not poor and needy are given from it. In that case, it may be classified as partisanship. However, mere cooperation by a group of Muslims to collect money from the generous and place it in its proper place according to the Shari'ah is not partisanship in the least. But I say that the reality of life regarding such associations tells us, or tells us that the administrators, or at least some of the administrators, exploit them for their personal benefits. In that case, the matter turns from collecting money for the poor and the destitute to collecting money for these employees. If we assume that the administrators of this association, which we said is not partisanship in the least, volunteered for the sake of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then this is among the best deeds by which a Muslim draws near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So, in brief, there are two conditions: The first condition is that the money not be collected for one group to the exclusion of another, and that those who collect the money not seek personal benefit behind it. If these two conditions are met, then the work is indeed valid.

The questioner : May Allah bless you.