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[Q-ID0681] Can I give Zakah to my brothers and sisters?

QUESTION:

What do the scholars of the Din and muftis of the Sacred Law state regarding the following issue: Can someone give Zakāh to their own brothers & sisters?

Questioner: Parvez from UK

ANSWER:

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایۃ الحق والصواب

Yes! It is permissible to give Zakāh to one’s own brothers & sisters, provided that Zakāh is applicable to them (being poor – as defined by Sharī’ah); in fact, giving to them is better. Just as it is stated in al-Bahr al-Rā’iq,

مَنْ سِوَاهُمْ مِنْ الْقَرَابَةِ يَجُوزُ الدَّفْعُ لَهُمْ، وَهُوَ أَوْلَى لِمَا فِيهِ مِنْ الصِّلَةِ مَعَ الصَّدَقَةِ كَالْإِخْوَةِ وَالْأَخَوَاتِ وَالْأَعْمَامِ” “وَالْعَمَّاتِ وَالْأَخْوَالِ وَالْخَالَاتِ الْفُقَرَاءِ

“It is permissible to give Zakāh to all relatives other than them (mother & father and offspring); in fact, it is better. This is because alongside giving Zakāh, there is also the treating well of relatives in this, such as giving Zakāh to brothers, sisters, paternal uncles, paternal aunties, maternal uncles, maternal aunties, so long as they are poor [as defined by Sharī’ah].

[al-Bahr al-Rā’iq sharh Kanz al-Daqā’iq, vol 2, pg 262]

The Imām of the Ahl al-Sunnah, Imām Ahmad Ridā Khān, upon whom be infinite mercies, was asked as to whether Zakāh can be given to brothers & sisters. So he, upon be mercy, replied by saying yes – it is permissible – as long as they are deserving.

[Fatāwā Ridawiyyah, vol 10, pg 252]

It is stated in Bahār-e-Sharī’at, referencing Jawharah [Nayyirah] & Radd al-Muhtār, that in the matter of Zakāh and other charitable donations, it is more virtuous to first give it to your brothers & sisters, then to their children, then to your paternal uncles & aunts, then to their children, then to your maternal uncle & aunt, then to their children, then to (other) blood relatives, then to your (Muslim) neighbours, then to people of your own profession, and then to the people of your own village, city or town.

It is reported in a Hadīth that the Noble Prophet ﷺ stated, ‘O the nation of Muhammad (ﷺ)! An oath upon He Who sent Me with the Truth – Allāh Almighty does not accept the charity of that person whose relatives are in need of his assistance, but instead he gives it to someone else. An oath upon He in Whose Divine Power is my soul! Allāh Almighty will not look with Mercy towards such person on the Day of Resurrection.’

[Bahār-e-Sharī’at, vol 1, part 5, pg 933]

Please change the name Parvez as it is not good to keep this name, because this was someone who was an enemy of Islām and was also the ruler of Iran, who tore the blessed letter which the Noble Prophet ﷺ sent, and the Holy Prophet ﷺ invoked God against him,

“مَزَّقَ کِتَابِیْ مَزَّقَ اللہُ مُلْکَہٗ”

“He tore my letter into pieces, may God tear his rulership into pieces.”

Thus, after this very moment, the son of Khosrow Parvēz – Shīrūya – tore open his stomach that very night while he was sleeping and killed him.

[Madārij al-Nubuwwah, part 3, ch 6, vol 2, pg 224]

واللہ تعالی اعلم ورسولہ اعلم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم
کتبہ ابو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء قادری

Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qadri
Translated by Haider Ali

Read the original Urdu answer here: [Q-ID0681] Can I give Zakah to my brothers and sisters?

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