Can one give zakat to married sister?
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:
Dear Burhan,
In a reply to my
an earlier question regarding ‘Whom we can pay Zakat?
You said, one of
the recepients can be your own relatives who are not directly under your
responsibility. In this regard I would like to know what is the status of a
married sister? If she is not well to do or she wants help for the further
education of their children! Can we pay her and assume it part of Zakat? Your
quick answer will help a lot.
Your Brother in
Islam
(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 give zakat to married
sister?
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.
A sister is not considered the
direct responsibility of the person.
The people who are directly under ones responsibility are normally one’s
parents, grand-parents, great grand-parents, etc., and wives, and children, grand-children, great grand-children,
etc.
If one’s own sister is poor and
needy, she has a bigger right to
receive the ‘zakat’ from her brother than anyone else. The person who pays his zakat to his own sister
will Insha Allah receive a double reward from Allah Subhanah: one for paying his zakat dues to purify his
wealth, and two for being kind and
helping his near relatives in need.
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