#795: Can Zakātu al-Fitr be given to Beggars?
795. QUESTION
“Can u give beggars your zakatul fitr?”
ANSWER:
Alhamdulillāh!
Imām Abū Dāwud Sulaymān As-Sijistānī rahimahullāh recorded in his Sunan from ‘Abdullah bn ‘Abbās – radiyallāhu ‘anhumā – that he said:
فرض رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم زكاة الفطر طهرةً للصائم من اللغو والرفث وطعمةً للمساكين من أداها قبل الصلاة فهي زكاةٌ مقبولةٌ ومن أداها بعد الصلاة فهي صدقةٌ من الصدقات
“The Messenger of Allāh made Zakātul Fitr obligatory upon the Ummah as a purification for the one who observes the Fast from the foul words and wrong statements, and as a food for the Needy. Whomsoever gives it out before the Salāt (of Īd), it is accepted from him and whosoever gives it out after it then it is just a Sadaqah like any other Sadaqah.”
For this reason Shaykhu Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah – rahimahullāh – said:
“Allāh made it obligatory to be given out as a food just like he made obligatory the giving out of food as Kaffārah. For this reason, it is not permissible that it be given except to the one that can be given the Kaffārah. And they are the ones that will take it for the use of themselves. It is therefore not permissible to be given to those whose hearts are been reconciled or for freeing the slave or other than that.” ( Majmū’atu Al-Fatāwah)
A similar statement was made by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah in Zādu Al-Ma’ād.
What this means is that only those who are needy should be given regardless of whether they are beggars or not.
It is the Obligation of the Ummah to identify those among it that are needy. The Ummah is one body and it is required of it to be united and coordinated in all it does. In the lifetime of the Rasūl -salallāhu alayhi wasallam – Zakātu Al-Fitr was collected just as Zakāt was collected and the Rasūl -salallāhu alayhi wasallam – administered it’s distribution. This was done in the lives of the Pious Predecessors and is closest to the Unity required of the Ummah. This united act ensures that only those who are actually needy are touched and the lowest of the low, the neediest are those that receive it.
What is recommended of the Muslims to do in this era is, to the best of their ability establish councils and organizations that see to this need and help the community identify the neediest people and deliver the Zakāt to them at their own doorsteps.
However when a person does not know such persons who are in dire need or do not have any of such organizations that he can trust to carry out this Noble deed then there is nothing wrong in him giving it to beggars on the assumption that they are those who are in need and in the lowest of the society’s ladder of living.
May Allāh unite the Ummah and bring for it it’s glorious days, amīn
Bārakallāhu Fīkum
Jazakumullāhu Khayran.
29th Ramadān, 1440AH.
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