Is it permissible to purchase specific items with zakah funds extracted from trade goods from which zakah cannot be paid in kind, but rather in cash value?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Can I buy with it—for example—electric heaters for the poor?
The Shaykh : No, because it must be converted into money to be given as money.
The questioner: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : What do you not drink? He says... and we see you drink coffee and tea, you will remember later.
The questioner : We will catch you later.
The Shaykh : At home, you do not drink tea, neither in the morning nor in the evening, nor the dark one?
The questioner : Nor the light one.
Another questioner : ...Since it differed here, this was now an expression of...
The Shaykh : Why did it differ? Because it is not possible:
"If you cannot do something, leave it, *** and pass on to what you can do."
The questioner : I mean, our brother is asking, meaning I gave them the money and found that they are living in difficult conditions, especially in these days in the winter season, so he said I will buy some of these heaters and blankets and distribute them, along with the money as well, so I said I will hold the answer until I ask the Shaykh.
The Shaykh : No, my brother, trade goods are paid out from the same trade from which one benefits. I said, for example, once, a large trader, a seller of new luxury cars, can donate one to a poor person.
The questioner : To one poor person?!
The Shaykh : Yes, he can, depending on the width or narrowness of his resources, but the situation you are asking about seems to be one where it is not possible except that he must look at money. So if he must look at money to implement the general text as we mentioned, then he does not convert it into things like what you mentioned, like a heater and the like, because the poor person is more aware of what he most needs than the one paying zakah, than the one paying zakah. So why does he want to buy a heater? Because he sees that this man’s house is cold and he needs a heater. Fine, you give him the zakah that is obligatory upon you and draw his attention to the fact that you are in need of a heater. You buy a heater, you buy something else, you are more aware of your own benefit.
The Shaykh : No, because it must be converted into money to be given as money.
The questioner: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : What do you not drink? He says... and we see you drink coffee and tea, you will remember later.
The questioner : We will catch you later.
The Shaykh : At home, you do not drink tea, neither in the morning nor in the evening, nor the dark one?
The questioner : Nor the light one.
Another questioner : ...Since it differed here, this was now an expression of...
The Shaykh : Why did it differ? Because it is not possible:
"If you cannot do something, leave it, *** and pass on to what you can do."
The questioner : I mean, our brother is asking, meaning I gave them the money and found that they are living in difficult conditions, especially in these days in the winter season, so he said I will buy some of these heaters and blankets and distribute them, along with the money as well, so I said I will hold the answer until I ask the Shaykh.
The Shaykh : No, my brother, trade goods are paid out from the same trade from which one benefits. I said, for example, once, a large trader, a seller of new luxury cars, can donate one to a poor person.
The questioner : To one poor person?!
The Shaykh : Yes, he can, depending on the width or narrowness of his resources, but the situation you are asking about seems to be one where it is not possible except that he must look at money. So if he must look at money to implement the general text as we mentioned, then he does not convert it into things like what you mentioned, like a heater and the like, because the poor person is more aware of what he most needs than the one paying zakah, than the one paying zakah. So why does he want to buy a heater? Because he sees that this man’s house is cold and he needs a heater. Fine, you give him the zakah that is obligatory upon you and draw his attention to the fact that you are in need of a heater. You buy a heater, you buy something else, you are more aware of your own benefit.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.