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:

Assalalm-u-Allaekum: Thankyou for replying. I have another question. Actually me and my husband send around $32 to a girl that lives in africa, actually we sponsered that girl through world vision, that girl is around 13 years old and every month me and my husband send her money and it becomes around 342 in a year. I have a question that if we send that money with the niyyat of zakat, is it ok? Other then that we don`t have enough money to pay zakat, so if we send that 32 dollars with the niyyat of zakat, so is it acceptable or not?

Please reply me as soon as possible. I`m waiting for your responce.

Allahafiz and may Allah bless all of us, Aameen.

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Answer:

Sponsor orphan with 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.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 60:

60 Alms are for the poor, and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds), for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to the Truth), for those in bondage, and in debt, in the Cause of Allah, and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah and Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom.

Allah Subhanah has prescribed that ‘zakah’ should be paid to any of the above eight categories.

Your Question: I have a question that if we send that money with the niyyat of zakat, is it ok?

Zakah dues can be paid to sponsor believing orhans who are indeed amongst the poor and needy of society; thus if the girl whom you sponsor through the organization in Africa is a muslim, then it would absolutely be permissible and acceptable to sponsor them through one’s zakah funds.

But if the recipient of the funds is a non-muslim, then one cannot spend on such poor and needy non-believers from their zakah funds, for zakah funds can only be spent on deserving muslims in any of the above listed eight categories as prescribed by Allah Subhanah.

If one wishes to help the poor and needy non-muslims there is absolutely no harm, but they must spend on them from their ‘sadaqah’ or voluntary charity and not from their obligatory zakah dues.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan