Ruling on Giving Zakah to One with a Limited Salary
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Question:
(E. A. M.) The questioner from al-Hafar al-Batin sent a question written in his own style, saying: “O Noble Shaykh, I am a married young man with children, and I praise Allah for that. My monthly income is limited, and I live in my father’s house with all my brothers. The question remains: One of my brothers knows about my limited monthly income and offered to help me with a sum of money. I initially refused to accept this amount, but he insisted on me, so I accepted it as assistance.”
He informed me that this was from the zakah. Is this money permissible for me? I am also required to pay a sum of eighteen thousand riyals to one of the institutions two years from today, and I do not possess this amount. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
You know your own situation best. If you are in need of it, poor and dependent on it, there is no harm. If the income you receive is not sufficient for the expenses of your family and your own needs, there is no harm in taking it. And if you have a debt, you are a debtor, and you take it for the sake of the debt; because Allah has made a right for debtors in the zakah. Even if the debt is deferred, unless you have the means to pay it. If you have the means to pay it, do not take the zakah. But if you do not have the means to pay it, take it and pay it to the creditor, even if you pay it before the due date. So beware of taking the zakah without right. If you are in need of it because the salary is not sufficient for your needs, there is no harm. Or if you took it for a debt because you do not have money to pay the debt from, you may take it and pay off the debt from it. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
(E. A. M.) The questioner from al-Hafar al-Batin sent a question written in his own style, saying: “O Noble Shaykh, I am a married young man with children, and I praise Allah for that. My monthly income is limited, and I live in my father’s house with all my brothers. The question remains: One of my brothers knows about my limited monthly income and offered to help me with a sum of money. I initially refused to accept this amount, but he insisted on me, so I accepted it as assistance.”
He informed me that this was from the zakah. Is this money permissible for me? I am also required to pay a sum of eighteen thousand riyals to one of the institutions two years from today, and I do not possess this amount. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
You know your own situation best. If you are in need of it, poor and dependent on it, there is no harm. If the income you receive is not sufficient for the expenses of your family and your own needs, there is no harm in taking it. And if you have a debt, you are a debtor, and you take it for the sake of the debt; because Allah has made a right for debtors in the zakah. Even if the debt is deferred, unless you have the means to pay it. If you have the means to pay it, do not take the zakah. But if you do not have the means to pay it, take it and pay it to the creditor, even if you pay it before the due date. So beware of taking the zakah without right. If you are in need of it because the salary is not sufficient for your needs, there is no harm. Or if you took it for a debt because you do not have money to pay the debt from, you may take it and pay off the debt from it. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.