Zakah-Whom-To-Give-And-How

In regard to your question, if you’re speaking of Zakat then there are specific categories under which Zakat must be given in a measured amount: 2.5% percent of one’s nisab (minimum amount upon which Zakat is due). Please see this ruling for more information, and here are the eight categories for which Zakat is to be given as mentioned in Surah At-Tawbah.

Sadaqah (voluntary) charity may be given at any time of the year in the amount the donor desires. As long as the charity to which one is donating is credible, and you are able to ensure that the amount you wish to donate will be delivered to the designated location, then I see no problem with donating to an organization that helps Darfur victims.

May Allaah reward you with good, grant you success, and I hope you have a nice day/evening as well!

Any mistakes in my answer are from myself and all good is from Allaah.

How Can Zakat Eliminate Poverty and Starvation?

by al-islami.com

If Islam was implemented in the world today, starvation would be eliminated from the planet within the first year. The Zakat due on agricultural products ranges from 5% to 10% of the produce. There is also Zakat due on various types of animals such as sheep, cows and camels. Imagine if 5%-10% of all agricultural production in the world, plus the required amounts on animals are distributed among the hungry and starving people of this world. The problem would be solved immediately. In the system we have today, some nations intentionally spoil a part of their agricultural production in order to maintain high prices for their produce. Can you see the difference between the system driven by human greed and the Islam which was imposed by Allah (swt), the most gracious and most merciful?

In addition, Islam can solve the problem of poverty. Consider the Zakat due on money. Zakat is due at 2.5% on money that has been in one’s possession for over a year. Now consider this simple fact:

Forbes Magazine reported that in 2004 there were 587 billionaires worldwide, with a combined net worth of $1.9 trillion dollars.

If in 2004 these 587 richest people in the world paid zakat, we would have had $47.5 billion dollars distributed among the poor.

This calculation has just considered less than 600 individuals on this earth. What about if everyone contributed to a global Zakat fund in the same way? The total world GDP (summation of gross domestic product of all countries in the world) was estimated in 1999 to be $27,357.9 billion dollars. The 2.5% Zakat on this would amount to $683.95 billion dollars annually. These are just ball park figures to give the reader an idea of how much money Zakat can generate.

This Zakat money should not only be distributed for immedeate relief to the poor. It can also be given in the form of small business loans. For example, poor farmers can be given loans or even grants from this Zakat money to enable them to purchase the equipment and materials they need to lift them out of poverty. The same can be done for small business owners, or for the poor to set up small workshops or factories to lift them out of poverty once and for all. Within a few years, poverty would be eliminated or at least greatly reduced.

InshaALLAH.

Giving sadaqah (charity) to non-Muslims

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1) It is ok to give sadaqa to non-muslim especially in this country? 
2) Someone (probably muslim) beg for specific amount of money. What Islam say to deal with such situation? Please also mention this situation when the begger is non_muslim? 
3) Is the same ruling for the first two question would be applicable to begger who are on drugs/alcohol, etc? It may be possible they may use money for wrong doing.

Published Date: 2000-05-13

Praise be to Allaah. 

1 - It is permissible to give charity – other than the obligatory charity (zakaah etc.) – to poor non-Muslims, especially if they are relatives, on condition that they do not belong to people who are in a state of war against us and have not committed acts of aggression that would preclude our treating them kindly. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Allaah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allaah loves those who deal with equity. It is only as regards those who fought against you on account of religion, and have driven you out of your homes, and helped to drive you out, that Allaah forbids you to befriend them. And whosoever will befriend them, then such are the Zaalimoon (wrongdoers those who disobey Allaah” [al-Mumtahinah 60:8-9]

 Asmaa’ bint Abi Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “My mother came to me when she was still a mushrikah – at the time when there was a peace treaty between Quraysh and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – accompanied by her father. I consulted the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), saying, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, my mother has come to me and she is asking for help. Should I uphold the ties of kinship with her?’ He said, ‘Yes, uphold the ties of kinship with her.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 2946).

 It was narrated that a Jewish woman came begging to ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) and she gave her something. The Jewish woman  said to ‘Aa’ishah, “May Allaah protect you from the punishment of the grave.” ‘Aa’ishah did not like that, and when she saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) she  asked him about it and he said “No.” ‘Aa’ishah said: “Then later on, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘It has been revealed to me that you will be tried in your graves.’” (Musnad Ahmad, no. 24815).

 These two ahaadeeth indicate that it is permissible to give charity to the kuffaar. But it is not permissible to give zakaah funds to the poor among the kuffaar, because zakaah can only be given to Muslims to spend on the poor and needy among them as mentioned in the aayah of zakaah.

 Imaam al-Shaafa'i said: “There is nothing wrong with giving charity to a mushrik as a naafilah (supererogatory) action, but he has no right to charity from the obligatory (zakaah). Allaah praised people who, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘… they give food, inspite of their love for it (or for the love of Him), to the Miskeen (the poor), the orphan, and the captive’ [al-Insaan 76:8].” (Kitaab al-Umm, part 2).

 Giving charity to poor Muslims is preferable and more befitting, because spending on them helps them to obey Allaah, and it helps them in both their worldly and spiritual affairs.  This helps to strengthen the bonds among Muslims, especially nowadays when the poor among the Muslims far outnumber the rich. And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek.

 2 – If the person who is asking for the money is Muslim and is definitely in need,  then give him what you can in charity. The same applies even if he is not Muslim. But it is better for Muslims who are in need to refrain from begging in the streets. If they have no other choice, they should go to Islamic charity organizations which exist to channel charitable donations to the poor and needy. By the same token, those who want to give charity can also contact reliable charitable organizations so that their charity will reach those who deserve it.

 3 – If the person who is asking for money –regardless of whether he is a Muslim or a kaafir – is asking for it in order to commit sin and buy something that is haraam, or he is going to use the money to help him to do something haraam, then it is not permissible to give that charity to him, because by doing so, one is helping him to commit that haraam action. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression” [al-Maa’idah 5:2]

 And Allaah knows best.

have a problem with the zakah system in Islam. If a rich Muslim gives out the zakah to the needy and the poor, this will encourage such people not work or even look for work. The poor and the needy will depend heavily on this regular income that comes from the rich. Therefore, zakah encourages unemployment in the society, right?
Consultant	About Islam Counselor
Answer

Salam (Peace),

Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

Zakah (obligatory alms) in Islam is one of the main five deeds which are considered the pillars of Islam.

Muslims believe that God Almighty, Allah in Arabic, is the All-Wise and that when He commands humans, it is always to benefit them.

Saying that zakah encourages unemployment is invalid. Actually, the opposite is true. Zakah is really a way of reducing unemployment.

One of the conditions of zakah is transferring the ownership of the amount of the zakah money from the rich to the poor. This means that an amount of money is taken from the pockets of the rich –who tend to save– into the pockets of the poo–, who tend to spend in order to fulfill their needs.

Give a rich person 100 dollars, it may be kept unspent in his pocket for a year. In contrast to that, it will evaporate from the pocket of a poor person in less than 30 minutes, because he needs food, clothing, and other essentials for himself and his family.

This means that 2.5% of the cash savings, 5-10% of the agriculture income, and 20% of the income of extracted minerals will be spent in the market through the poor.

This will lead to the increase in market demand on goods. To accommodate this increase in demand, there should be an increase in production. This, in turn, will lead to an increase in job opportunities. God tells us in the Quran:

{What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from the people of the town belongs to Allah, to His Messenger, and to kindred and orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer; In order that it may not (merely) make a circuit between the wealthy among you.} (Quran 59:7)

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in this verse is mentioned as the authority which collects zakah and tax from the rich all over the country, and has to spend it on the orphans and the needy.

Therefore, the money and wealth is not kept circulating between the rich. This circuit should be broken by taking an amount, even if small, and giving it to the poor who are in need of the money and will spend it in the market as we explained above.

I hope this answers your question. Please keep in touch.

Salam.

This response is from About Islam’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:

Zakah and the Economic System in Islam

Zakah and Distributive Justice

Zakah & Purifying Wealth