What is the ruling on refraining from paying electricity and water bills or disconnecting meters with the aim of reducing the bill's value, given that the average income of a household head does not exceed 150 US dollars and is insufficient to meet essential needs, and is the Islamic economy based on achieving a standard of sufficiency for families in terms of housing, electricity, water, and transportation, commensurate with individual income?
In the past, people exerted effort and spent money to obtain water and light. With the development of services and their availability in homes in exchange for fees, paying these fees has become an obligation on the beneficiary. It is not permissible to evade them under the pretext of poverty or the wealth of the state, because that is a betrayal of trust, and believers adhere to their conditions. If a person is unable to secure his livelihood, then the Muslim government must grant him an allowance, and his wealthy neighbors must take care of him, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbor is hungry beside him." The prevalence of poverty is due to the absence of the obligation of zakat and the weakness of cooperation.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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