Question
Most of the masajids have boxes labelled lillah sadakah and zakat, but some have one common box in which we have to drop our sadakah and zakat money. Is it acceptable? Is it permissible?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Sadaqah means charity and Lillah means for the sake of Allah.
Sadaqah can be classified into two types:
(1) Sadaqah Waajibah (Obligatory Contribution): Such as Zakaat, Sadaqatul Fitr, Nadhr (vow), Yameen (oath) etc.
(2) Sadaqah Naafilah (Voluntary Contribution): Such as Lillah.
Voluntary Sadaqah and Lillah denote the same meaning. Although the common understanding is that Lillah refers to funds for the upkeep of masaajid and religious institutes, Lillah and Sadaqah are used interchangeably and have no difference between them as far as their status and use is concerned. [1]
Zakaat and voluntary Sadaqah differ with regards to their rulings and recipients. One of the conditions for the validity of Zakaat is the deserving recipient of Zakaat has to be made the unfettered owner of the Zakaat amount.
Therefore, it is necessary for the recipient of Zakaat to take ownership of the Zakaat amount.
By combining voluntary Sadaqah and Zakaat funds in one box, it will be difficult to ascertain the amount of each type of donation, thus making it difficult to discharge the donated amounts correctly.
Therefore, it is best to have two separate boxes; one for Zakaat and obligatory Sadaqah (e.g. sadaqatul Fitr) and the other for Lillah contributions/voluntary sadaqah.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Muhammad I.V Patel
Checked and Approved by
Mufti Nabeel Valli
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia
آپ کے مسائل اور ان کا حل جلد ٣ صفحہ ٥٣٢
صدقہ و خیرات تو ایک ہی چیز ہے، یعنی جو مال اللہ تعالیٰ کی خوشنودی کے لئے کسی خیر کے کام میں خرچ کیا جائے وہ صدقہ و خیرات کہلاتا ہے، اور کسی کام کے ہونے پر کچھ صدقہ کرنے کی یا کسی عبادت کے بجا لانے کی منّت مانی جائے تو اس کو “نذر” کہتے ہیں
صفحہ ٥٤٤
اُردو محاورے میں یہ دونوں لفظ ایک ہی معنی میں استعمال ہوتے ہیں، قرآن مجید میں صدقے کا لفظ زکوٰة پر بھی بولا گیا ہے، اور خیرات تمام نیک کاموں کو کہا گیا ہے۔