Can we give zakat to our domestic servants, peons, Drivers and Darwans in office?
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 we give zakat to
our domestic servants, peons, Drivers and Darwans in office?
They
are all needy as per my estimatiom.
I
heard that it is better to read sunnat namaz at home and nafl in sitting
position. Please let me know if I mheard correctly
(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:
Give zakah to
servants
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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Your
Question: Can we give zakat to our domestic servants, peons, Drivers and
Darwans in office?
They are
all needy as per my estimatiom.
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 listed categories:
- To
the poor
- To
the needy
- To
those who are employed to administer the zakah funds
- To
those whose hearts have recently been reconciled to the Truth of Islam
(new-muslims)
- For
those in bondage
- For
those in debt
- In
the Cause of Allah
- To
the way-farer or traveler
Allah Subhanah has Commanded and Guided the believers that
‘Zakah’ must be distributed to any of the above eight categories only; for all
other categories, one may help them through voluntary and supererogatory
charity or ‘sadaqah’ but not through ‘Zakah’ funds.
If one’s domestic servant, or peon, or driver, or employee
falls in the category of poor and/or needy, and is a believer, there is
absolutely no harm in helping them from one’s ‘zakah’ dues…..one obviously
cannot pay their salary or bonuses from one’s ‘zakah’ dues for their services
rendered; but if they happen to be poor and/or needy, there is absolutely no
harm in spending on them from one’s ‘zakah’ dues.
Your
Question: I heard that it is better to read sunnat namaz at home
Sunan of Abu-Dawood
Hadith 1039 Narrated by Zayd ibn Thabit
The Prophet (saws)
said: ‘The prayer a man offers in his house is more excellent than his prayer
in this mosque of mine, except obligatory prayer.’
Sahih Muslim Hadith 1707 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘Do not make
your house as graveyards (where the offering of prayers is obviously
prohibited).’
All the scholars in Islam are
unanimous in their opinion that in light of the above authentic hadiths and the
established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws), that although it is not
prohibited for the believers to offer their ‘Nafl’ or Sunnah prayers in the
masjids, the Sunnah or Nafl prayers a believer prays in his house are more
excellent and more meritorious in the Sight of Allah Subhanah than if prayed in
the masjids.
It was the preferred Sunnah or
tradition of the Messenger of Allah (saws) that he (saws) would pray the
obligatory prayers in congregation in the masjid, and the supererogatory (Nafl)
prayers in his house.
Your
Question: …..and nafl in sitting position.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.103
Topic: The prayer of a person who is ill
(Salatul Marid)
Whoever has some excuse due to illness and
cannot stand during the ‘salah’ is allowed to pray in a sitting position. If
one cannot pray in a sitting posture, he may pray while on his side by making
gestures. In such a case, his gestures for the ‘sajdah; should be lower than
those for his ‘ruku'. This principle is
based on Allah's words: "...And celebrate Allah's praises, standing, sitting, and lying
on your sides (3:191)."
Imran ibn Hussain says: "I had piles
[hemorrhoids], so I asked the Prophet (saws) about the prayer and he (saws)
said: 'Offer the ‘salah’ while standing and if you cannot do so, pray while
sitting, and if you can't do that, then make ‘salah’ while lying on your side."'
(Related by Bukhari)
An-Nasa'i relates the same hadith with the
following addition:: "……And if you cannot offer ‘salah’ while lying on
your side, then do it while lying on your back.’ Then the Messenger of Allah
(saws) recited the following verse of the Quran: ‘Allah does not burden a soul, save with
what it can bear (2:286)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.216 Narrated by Imran bin Husain
I asked Allah's Messenger (saws) about the
praying of a man while sitting. He (saws) said, "If he prays while
standing it is better, and he who prays while sitting gets half the reward of
that who prays standing; and whoever prays while lying gets half the reward of
that who prays while sitting."
Although it is best that one offer all of one’s prayers,
regardless of whether they be ‘fard’, ‘sunnah’, or ‘nafl’ in ‘qiyaam’ (standing
posture)…..if for any genuine reason one is compelled to offer their prayers in
a sitting position, there is no harm; but the reward of offering one’s prayers
in ‘qiyaam’ (standing) is better than the prayer of one who is sitting.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan