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What is the ruling on working for a company that disburses Zakat al-Mal in the form of food packages, well-drilling projects, and mosque construction?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Digging wells and building mosques are not among the categories for Zakat expenditure according to the majority of scholars, and it is not permissible to pay Zakat for them. As for distributing Zakat as food parcels, the default is that Zakat should be given in cash, and using it to buy food is a matter of scholarly disagreement. If permissible, it must be given to the legitimate recipients of Zakat, such as the poor and the needy. Working for the company is permissible if its operations are lawful, and those in charge should be advised to correct errors and ensure Zakat is directed to its rightful recipients. Spending Zakat on building mosques is an anomalous opinion not permissible within the four madhhabs, because Zakat requires ownership transfer, and mosques are not among the eight categories mentioned in the Quran.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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