What is the ruling on Zakat paid to an unemployed brother to cover his children's expenses, which a governmental body later undertook to pay, and must it be reclaimed and paid to its rightful recipients?
If a brother receives due to his poverty and inability to provide the necessary sustenance for his children, he owns it, and he is not required to return it if he later becomes self-sufficient. However, if he took it solely because he was in debt, he must return it if he becomes self-sufficient or if he did not spend it on his debt.
Jurists have divided the categories of Zakat recipients into two types: 1. Those who receive it as full ownership and are not required to return it. These are the poor (fuqara’), the needy (masakin), the Zakat collectors (al-'amilun), and those whose hearts are to be reconciled (al-mu’allafatu qulubuhum), because the purpose of giving them Zakat has been fulfilled. 2. Those who receive it as conditional ownership. These are the enslaved who are working to buy their freedom (al-mukātabūn), those in debt (al-gharimun), those fighting in the way of Allah (al-ghuzat), and the wayfarer (ibn al-sabil). If they spend it for the purpose for which they received it, then it is theirs; otherwise, it is reclaimed from them. If anything remains with them after their need is met, they must return it.
Regarding giving Zakat to someone capable of earning, jurists hold differing opinions: The Shafi'is and Hanbalis believe that it is not permissible to give Zakat to someone capable of earning enough for their sustenance, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "There is no share in it for the rich, nor for the strong and able-bodied earner." The Hanafis permit giving Zakat to someone who owns less than the (minimum threshold for Zakat liability), even if they are healthy and capable of earning, because they are considered poor or needy. The Malikis believe that the minimum threshold which prevents entitlement is owning sufficient means for livelihood, not merely owning the nisab.
The prevailing is that someone capable of earning and who can find work should not be given Zakat.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/182562
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 182562
- Imported
- Translation status
- Source text, unreviewed
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy