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Using Zakaat Funds to Purchase Hampers and Feed Poor People

Q: Is it permissible to use zakaat funds to purchase hampers and feed poor people? Similarly, is it permissible to provide Iftaar for the poor in the month of Ramadhaan using Zakaat funds?

A: It will be permissible to use Zakaat funds to feed poor people provided the requirement of tamleek is found. Tamleek means to transfer ownership of the wealth to someone who is eligible for zakaat. Therefore if the poor people were given the Zakaat hampers, the Zakaat will be discharged. And if the poor were not given the Zakaat hampers but were merely invited for a meal and were allowed to partake of it, then zakaat will not be discharged since the requirement of tamleek was not found. Similar is the case regarding the Iftaar food in the month of Ramadhaan, if the poor were given an Iftaar hamper the Zakaat will be discharged. And if the poor were not given the Zakaat hampers but were merely invited to partake of the food provided, then zakaat will not be discharged since the requirement of tamleek was not found.

قوله ( تمليكا ) فلا يكفي فيها الإطعام إلا بطريق التمليك ولو أطعمه عنده ناويا الزكاة لا تكفي (شامي 2/344)

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)

This answer was collected from MuftiOnline.co.za, where the questions have been answered by Mufti Zakaria Makada (Hafizahullah), who is currently a senior lecturer in the science of Hadith and Fiqh at Madrasah Ta’leemuddeen, Isipingo Beach, South Africa.

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