Pay zakat without informing
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
A
MUSLIM BROTHER WANTS TO EDUCATE HIS DAUGHTERS BUT CAN`T AFFORD TO PAY THE
COLLEGE FEES. HE WILL ALSO NOT ACCEPT ZAKAT. CAN WE HELP HIM BY GIVING ZAKAT
MONEY WITHOUT INFORMING HIM THAT THIS AMOUNT IS FROM ZAKAT.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Pay zakat without
informing
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and
whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness
that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9
Surah Taubah verse 60:
60 Alms are for the poor, and the needy,
and those employed to administer the (funds), for those whose hearts have been
(recently) reconciled (to the Truth), for those in bondage and in debt, in the
Cause of Allah, and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah
is full of Knowledge and Wisdom.
Allah Subhanah has prescribed that ‘zakah’
should be paid to any of the above eight listed categories:
Allah Subhanah has Commanded and Guided the
believers that Zakaah may be distributed to any of the above absolutely vast
eight categories only; for all other categories, one may help them through
voluntary and supererogatory charity or sadaqa but not through Zakah funds.
A MUSLIM BROTHER WANTS
TO EDUCATE HIS DAUGHTERS BUT CAN`T AFFORD TO PAY THE COLLEGE FEES
My dear beloved brother, Islam does not permit us to give
the zakat funds to people who are not mustahik
Using zakat funds for college fees is definitely not
allowed.
One may help them through voluntary and
supererogatory charity or sadaqa but not through Zakah funds.
A muslim who fears Allah swt must be aware that the zakat
amounts does not belong to the giver, but it is given to us as a trust and
responsibility which must be honored and distributed according to the command
of our Majestic Lord.
CAN WE HELP HIM BY
GIVING ZAKAT MONEY WITHOUT INFORMING HIM THAT THIS AMOUNT IS FROM ZAKAT.
If a brother is eligible to receive from the Zakat funds
then there is absolutely no harm if one distributes
his Zakaah dues to people without informing them that the money is from the
Zakaah. In fact, the best charity is the one that is
given in absolute secrecy, thus confirming the intention that the one who gives
the charity is giving it because of his love for Allah Subhanah and for not
material gain, or worldly reward, or recognition.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verses 261-264:
261 The
parable of those who spend their substance in the way of Allah is that of a
grain of corn: it groweth seven ears and each ear hath a hundred
grains. Allah giveth manifold increase to whom He pleaseth; and
Allah careth for all and He knoweth all things.
262 Those
who spend their substance in the cause of Allah, and follow not up their gifts
with reminders of their generosity or with injury, for them their reward is
with their Lord; on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
263 Kind
words and the covering of faults are better than charity followed by
injury. Allah is free of all wants and he is Most Forbearing.
264 O
ye who believe! Cancel not your charity by reminders of your generosity or by
injury, like those who spend their substance to be seen of men but believe
neither in Allah nor in the last day. They are in Parable like a
hard barren rock on which is a little soil; on it falls heavy rain which leaves
it (just) a bare stone. They will be able to do nothing with aught
they have earned. And Allah guideth not those who reject faith.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith
2.504 Narrated by Abu
Huraira
The Prophet (saws) said, "Seven people
will be shaded by Allah under His shade on the day when there will be no shade
except His. They are:
a just ruler;
a young man who has been brought up in the
worship of Allah, (i.e. worship Allah (Alone) sincerely from his childhood),
a man whose heart is attached to the mosque
(who offers the five compulsory congregational prayers in the mosque);
two persons who love each other only
for Allah's sake and they meet and part in Allah's cause only;
a man who refuses the call of a charming
woman of noble birth for an illegal sexual intercourse with her, and says: ‘I
am afraid of Allah’;
a
person who practices charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what
his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows who, what, and how he has given in
charity).
a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and
his eyes get flooded with tears."
Hence there is no need to announce to the rightful
receiver that the funds are from the zakaah amounts. But it is necessary to
only distribute to the mustahiks who fall in the listed eight categories as
commanded by Allah swt.
As long as the one who is paying the ‘zakah’ has made
intention in his heart of fulfilling his obligatory duty of ‘zakah’, there is
absolutely no condition or obligation upon him/her to declare to the recipient
of zakah the source of the funds being given to them. If one wills one may declare to the recipient
that they are from ‘zakah’ funds, and if one wills or wishes not to disclose
the source of his funds to the recipient, there is absolutely no harm.
When one pays ‘zakah’ funds to someone one knows, like a
relative or a loved one or a friend, it is best and encouraged in Islam to not
disclose to the recipient that the funds are from ‘zakah’ dues, so as to not
humiliate them and preserve the self-honor and dignity of the recipient.
And Allah knows best.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is only ones.
Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in Islam,
Members
of Islamhelpline
