Fatwa ID: 06289

 

Answered by: Muftiyah Habiba Akhtar

 

Question:

 

Can zakat money be handed to a non-baligh or does it have to be given to their guardian?

 

 

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

 

Answer:

 

As long as the recipient of the Zakat is eligible to receive Zakat, then Zakat may be paid to a minor.

 

Consider the following verse:

 

“Indeed, [prescribed] charitable offerings are only [to be given] to the poor and the indigent, and to those who work on [administering] it, and to those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to [free] those in bondage, and to the debt-ridden, and for the cause of God, and to the wayfarer. [This is] an obligation from God. And God is all-knowing, all-wise.” (1)

 

Another condition when handing over Zakat is that you cannot give Zakat as a form of paying someone for something etc, instead when giving Zakat, there must be a complete transfer of ownership when handing over the money. (2)

 

Therefore, as a child is immature at this stage, you may give Zakat to a minor by handing it over to the guardian who will have to hand it over to the minor child eventually.

 

 

 

Only Allah knows best

Written by Muftiyah Habiba Akhtar

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

{ ۞ إِنَّمَا ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتُ لِلۡفُقَرَاۤءِ وَٱلۡمَسَـٰكِینِ وَٱلۡعَـٰمِلِینَ عَلَیۡهَا وَٱلۡمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمۡ وَفِی ٱلرِّقَابِ وَٱلۡغَـٰرِمِینَ وَفِی سَبِیلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱبۡنِ ٱلسَّبِیلِۖ فَرِیضَةࣰ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِیمٌ حَكِیمࣱ }

[Surah At-Tawbah: 60]

 

 

(2)

ويشترط أن يكون الصرف ( تمليكا ) لا إباحة كما

إلى بناء ) نحو ( مسجد)

قال الشامي : قوله ( تمليكا ) فلا يكفي فيها الإطعام إلا بطريق التمليك ولو أطعمه عنده ناويا الزكاة لا تكفي ط وفي التمليك إشارة إلى أنه لا يصرف إلى مجنون وصبي غير مراهق إلا إذا قبض لهما من يجوز له قبضه كالأب والوصي وغيرهما ويصرف إلى مراهق يعقل الأخذ كما في المحيط قهستاني

Durrul Mukhtar, Vol 3, page 291, Maktab Zakariyah