What is the ruling on a man who calls to Allah spending the zakat funds he collects on his poor and needy relatives and orphans, without informing the donors or his family about the source of the funds?

If a person appoints someone to pay charity (sadaqa) to unspecified poor and needy individuals, and there is a difference of opinion regarding the permissibility for the agent to give it to his poor relatives.

The preferred view is that it is permissible to give it to them, as they fall under the general category of "the poor and the needy," with the recommendation that the donors be informed of this to avoid any suspicion.