Fatwa ID: 06132

Answered by: Alimah Zakiratul Hoque

Question:

Is there a fatwa according to any Mathhab that you can give zakaat for dawah, madrassahs and Deeni help. Even though these people aren’t poor.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

Regarding the recipients of Zakah, Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Alms-tax is only for the poor and the needy, for those employed to administer it, for those whose hearts are attracted (to the faith), for (freeing) slaves, for those in debt, for Allah’s cause, and for (needy) travellers. ˹This is˺ an obligation from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” (Qur’an 9:60)

Most scholars are of the opinion that “for Allah’s cause” specifically refers to people who fight in the path of Allah (Fatawa Hindiyyah, Vol 1, Pg 207; Tafseer Ar Razi, Vol 16, Pg 115).

However, some scholars are of the opinion that “for Allah’s cause” is general and refers to any good cause. These scholars allow the use of Zakat for building Masjids, etc (Tafseer Ar Razi, Vol 16, Pg 115). This is the preferred opinion of some scholars of Saudi Arabia, including Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Baz, a Hanbali scholar, as detailed by Dr Tawfique Chowdhury in his paper Is Zakat permissible for Islamic dawah organisations?

The opinion of the 4 Madhabs is that it cannot be used for Dawah, Madrassahs (generally), and other Deeni causes.

إِنَّمَا ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتُ لِلْفُقَرَآءِ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينِ وَٱلْعَـٰمِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَٱلْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَٱلْغَـٰرِمِينَ وَفِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ

و هم منقطعوا الغزاة الفقراء منهم عند أبي يوسف رحمه الله تعالي

قال المفسرون : يعني الغزاة

و اعلم أن ظاهر اللفظ في قوله في سبيل الله لا يوجب القصر على كل الغزاة ، فلهذا المعنى نقل القفال في تفسيره عن بعض الفقهاء أنهم أجازوا صرف الصدقات إلي جميع وجوه الخير من التكفين الموتي و بناء الحصون و عمارة المساجد لأن قوله في سبيل الله عام في الكل

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Alimah Zakiratul Hoque

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham