Darulifta Ahlesunnat
(Dawateislami)
Question
What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter: can zakat
and general nafl ṣadaqah be given to women who do work around the house? If it can be given to
them, must they be informed regarding it, or can it be given to them without
informing them?
بِسْمِ اللہِ
الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ
الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
If a woman working within the home is a faqīr according to sharīʿah, then zakat,
ṣadaqāt wājibah (such as sadaqah
fiṭr, nadhr or kaffārah) and nafl ṣadaqah can be given to her. If said woman is not a faqīr
according to sharīʿah,
then zakat and ṣadaqāt wājibah cannot be
given to her. She can still be given nafl ṣadaqah, however. Whether it is zakat or any other form of ṣadaqah, it can be given to the rightful person without informing them. The
intention of the giver is sufficient.
Allah states in the Quran:
اِنَّمَا الصَّدَقٰتُ لِلۡفُقَرَآءِ
وَ الۡمَسٰکِیۡنِ
Translation from Kanz al-Īmān: Zakah is
only for these people who are poor and the strictly needy.
In relation to a faqīr being a valid
recipient of zakat, Tanwīr al-Abṣār maʿa Durr al-Mukhtār
says:
مصرف الزکوٰۃ و العشر ۔۔۔
ھو فقیر
Relating to this, Radd al-Muḥtār
explains how a faqīr is rightful of ṣadaqāt wājibah:
وھو مصرف ایضاً لصدقۃ الفطر و الکفارۃ
و النذر و غیر ذلک من الصدقات الواجبۃ
It is not necessary to declare zakat to the recipient when giving, as
written in Radd al-Muḥtār:
لا اعتبار للتسمية فلو سماها هبة او قرضا تجزيه في
الأصح
In regards to giving ṣadaqāt wājibah to a
wealthy person, the Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah, Imam Aḥmad
Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه explains, “It is haram for both a wealthy person to
accept ṣadaqāt wājibah and for
this to be given to him. If he is given this, it shall be considered invalid.”
Concerning the giving of zakat, etc., by giving it another name, Imam Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه says with reference to Al-Ḥadīqah al-Nadiyyah:
قال الفقھاء فیمن دفع الزکاۃلفقیروسماھا
قرضا صح لان العبرۃ بالمعنی لاباللفظ وکذٰلک الصدقۃ علی
الغنی ھبۃ والھبۃ علی الفقیر صدقۃ
Jurists declared that if one gives his zakat to a person by terming it a
debt, it will be valid. This is because the meaning is taken into
consideration, not the words. Likewise it is valid to
give nafl ṣadaqah to a rich person by terming it a gift, or to give ṣadaqah to a faqīr by calling it a gift (or to give
a gift by terming it ṣadaqah).
وَاللہُ
اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی
اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم
Answered By: Mufti
Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: Aqs 1560
Date: 16 Rajab 1440
AH/24 March 2019 CE