Should We Give Charity If We Do Not Trust the Recipient?
Answered by Shaykh Muhammad Fayez Awad
Question
Should we give charity if we do not trust the recipient?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and companions.
Allah has obligated Zakat and made it the third pillar of Islam. He mentioned it alongside prayer for its importance in more than twenty places in the Quran.
Allah (Most High) said: “Establish prayer, pay alms-tax, and bow down with those who bow down.” [Quran, 2:43], and He said: “Take from their wealth ˹O Prophet˺ charity to purify and bless them…” [Quran, 9:103]
Who May Receive Zakat?
The lawful recipients of Zakat are clearly defined in the Quran: “Alms-tax is only for the poor and the needy, for those employed to administer it, for those whose hearts are attracted ˹to the faith˺, for ˹freeing˺ slaves, for those in debt, for Allah’s cause, and for ˹needy˺ travelers. ˹This is˺ an obligation from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [Quran, 9:60]
Zakat must not be given to the wealthy, nor to those who are not among its rightful recipients. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) sent Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (Allah be pleased with him) to Yemen and instructed him to invite the people to testify that there is no deity except Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger. Once they obeyed this, he was to inform them about the obligation of five daily prayers; if they obeyed that, to inform them about the Zakat on their wealth to be taken from their rich and given to their poor. [Bukhari, Muslim]
Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Zakat is not permissible for the rich man, nor for someone who is strong and healthy.” [Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Darimi, Ibn al-Jarud, Hakim, Bayhaqi]
If Someone Who Is Ineligible Takes Zakat
It is not lawful for someone who is not eligible for Zakat to take it knowingly. If such a person takes it and it is not reclaimed from him, it is not lawful for him, and he must either return it or give it as charity, as it is prohibited for him.
The giver of Zakat must strive to identify the rightful recipients. If he gives it without due diligence, or if his diligence concludes the recipient is not eligible and gives it anyway, it does not fulfill his obligation if it turns out the recipient is indeed ineligible. The meaning of “due diligence” here is to look into the signs of eligibility. If there is doubt whether the recipient is poor, due diligence is required.
According to the Shafi‘i school, the Zakat must be reclaimed, and the recipient must return it, whether he knew it was Zakat or not. If reclaimed, it should be given to the rightful recipients; if not, and if the Zakat was given by the ruler, he is not liable, but if it was given by the owner of the wealth, he is liable. [Nawawi, Rawdat al-Talibin]
We ask Allah to guide us to properly fulfill what He has commanded us. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Responding. Blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad.
Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad, born in Damascus, Syria, in 1965, pursued his Islamic studies in the mosques and institutes of Damascus. A graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in 1985, he holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan.
He has extensive experience developing curricula and enhancing the teaching of various academic courses, including conducting intensive courses. Shaykh Awad has taught Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Quranic sciences, the history of legislation, inheritance laws, and more at several institutes and universities such as Al-Furqan Institute for Islamic Sciences and Majma‘ al-Fath al-Islami in Damascus.
He is a lecturer at the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih Waqf University in Istanbul, teaching various Arabic and Islamic subjects, and teaches at numerous Islamic institutes in Istanbul. Shaykh Awad is a member of the Association of Syrian Scholars, a founding member of the Zayd bin Thabit Foundation, a member of the Syrian Scholars Association, and a member of the Academic Council at the Iman Center for Teaching the Sunna and Quran.
Among his teachers from whom he received Ijazat are his father, Shaykh Muhammad Muhiyiddin Awad, Shaykh Muhiyiddin al-Kurdi, Shaykh Muhammad Karim Rajih, Shaykh Usama al-Rifai, Shaykh Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Ahmad al-Qalash, Shaykh Muhammad Awwama, and Shaykh Mamduh Junayd.
