Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Can someone ask for a zakat? 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Can one ask for Zakah?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that Zainab, the wife of Hadrat Ibn Mas'ud (r.a.), said: "O Prophet of Allah (saws)! Indeed you have ordered us today to give away charity, and I have some jewelry which I wanted to give away as charity. But Ibn Mas'ud claims that he and his children deserve it more than someone else." The Prophet (saws) responded: "Ibn Mas'ud is right. Your husband and your children are more deserving."

Related by al-Bukhari.

If one is so poor and destitute, there is no harm if one asks his believing brother or sister to consider him/her when giving their zakah dues. But Islam does not encourage the believers to go about asking for charity, unless of course one is in a completely destitute situation.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.509 Narrated by Ibn Umar

I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) while he was on the pulpit speaking about charity, to abstain from asking others for some financial help and about begging others, saying, "The upper hand is better than the lower hand. The upper hand is that of the giver and the lower (hand) is that of the beggar."

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan