The Ruling on Zakah and Sadaqah for a Relative Who Abandons Prayer and Fasting
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He asks Your Eminence, saying: What should I do regarding a brother, or a relative, or a neighbor, who is in need of zakah and sadaqah, but he does not fast and does not pray? Does he deserve that I give him from what I mentioned? Guide us, may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Yes, you should advise him for the sake of Allah, and give him from your wealth what you see as a means to call him to Islam and to make him abandon the falsehood he is upon. You do not give him zakah; give zakah to the poor who are known for their uprightness and Islam. However, you give him from your wealth other than zakah to win his heart, so that perhaps Allah will guide him. You give him if he is poor, so that perhaps he will repent to Allah, pray, and fast; because abandoning prayer is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) — we seek refuge in Allah — according to the most correct opinion of the scholars, even if he does not deny its obligation.
As for if he denies its obligation, he is a disbeliever according to all scholars. But if he acknowledges its obligation, yet is sometimes lazy and does not pray, he becomes a disbeliever by that according to a group of scholars, and this is the most correct of the scholars' opinions. Others said: Rather, he is a sinner who has committed a great major sin, and he has committed disbelief less than disbelief, and he does not become a disbeliever by major disbelief. But the correct view, in terms of evidence, is that he becomes a disbeliever by major disbelief.
But if you give him from sadaqah other than zakah, and advise him for the sake of Allah, and direct him to good, then you are on the right path. And if he is an elder, or a leader, or one who is obeyed among his people, and you give him from zakah for the sake of winning his heart, that is also permissible; because those whose hearts are to be reconciled have a right to zakah.
So the disbeliever is given from zakah if it is hoped that this will reconcile his heart and lead to his entering Islam, or the Islam of his like, or the restraining of his harm from people. But there is no blame on you for giving him from other than zakah, due to the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) : [Al-Mumtahanah: 8]. So the disbeliever who does not fight us, there is no harm in giving him from sadaqah until we reconcile his heart thereby, and we are kind to him, so that perhaps he will repent, so that perhaps he will be guided.
It is established in the authentic hadith that the mother of Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) came to Madinah during the time of the truce between the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the people of Makkah, at the time of the truce. She came to her daughter Asma' seeking support and assistance, and she was a disbeliever upon the religion of her people from the people of Makkah. So Asma' asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about that, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So he ordered her to support her while she was a disbeliever; because in this there is dutifulness to her, and because it is a means to her Islam. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
He asks Your Eminence, saying: What should I do regarding a brother, or a relative, or a neighbor, who is in need of zakah and sadaqah, but he does not fast and does not pray? Does he deserve that I give him from what I mentioned? Guide us, may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
Yes, you should advise him for the sake of Allah, and give him from your wealth what you see as a means to call him to Islam and to make him abandon the falsehood he is upon. You do not give him zakah; give zakah to the poor who are known for their uprightness and Islam. However, you give him from your wealth other than zakah to win his heart, so that perhaps Allah will guide him. You give him if he is poor, so that perhaps he will repent to Allah, pray, and fast; because abandoning prayer is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) — we seek refuge in Allah — according to the most correct opinion of the scholars, even if he does not deny its obligation.
As for if he denies its obligation, he is a disbeliever according to all scholars. But if he acknowledges its obligation, yet is sometimes lazy and does not pray, he becomes a disbeliever by that according to a group of scholars, and this is the most correct of the scholars' opinions. Others said: Rather, he is a sinner who has committed a great major sin, and he has committed disbelief less than disbelief, and he does not become a disbeliever by major disbelief. But the correct view, in terms of evidence, is that he becomes a disbeliever by major disbelief.
But if you give him from sadaqah other than zakah, and advise him for the sake of Allah, and direct him to good, then you are on the right path. And if he is an elder, or a leader, or one who is obeyed among his people, and you give him from zakah for the sake of winning his heart, that is also permissible; because those whose hearts are to be reconciled have a right to zakah.
So the disbeliever is given from zakah if it is hoped that this will reconcile his heart and lead to his entering Islam, or the Islam of his like, or the restraining of his harm from people. But there is no blame on you for giving him from other than zakah, due to the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) :
Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them
لا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْIt is established in the authentic hadith that the mother of Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) came to Madinah during the time of the truce between the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the people of Makkah, at the time of the truce. She came to her daughter Asma' seeking support and assistance, and she was a disbeliever upon the religion of her people from the people of Makkah. So Asma' asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about that, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Pray it
صليهاThe presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.