Fatwa ID: 06028
Answered by: Maulana Syed Johir Miah
Question:
Can Zakah be given to a poor person to help him move and settle down in another country etc.?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
The people who are eligible for Zakah are mentioned in the Noble Quran.
Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) says;
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاء وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
The Prescribed Purifying Alms (the Zakah) are meant only for the poor, and the destitute, and those in charge of collecting them, and those whose hearts are to be won over, and to free those in bondage, and to help those over-burdened with debt, and in the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarer. This is an ordinance from Allah. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
(Surah Taubah, Verse 60)
Zakah is an obligation for every free, sane, mature Muslim when they have owned the value of Nisab and a year has passed. 1
In the aforementioned case, if the poor person who is shifting from one country to another country is eligible for Zakah, then they can be given Zakah. On the contrary, if they are not eligible, then they should not be given Zakah as they are not amongst the recipients of Zakah.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Maulana Syed Johir Miah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 الزكاة واجبة على الحر العاقل البالغ المسلم إذا ملك نصابا ملكا تاما وحال عليه الحول
Hidaya, 290/2, Dar Ihyat Turath, Beirut, Lebanon.
