Giving Zakat as sawaab-e-jariya

02 Nov 2021 Ref-No#: 3948

As-salaam-u-alaikum warahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Please could you help with the following:
Some of my family want to put money towards paying for a disadvantaged childs education on behalf of my late grandfather.
Can we use our own zakaat for this with the intention that he receives sawaab-e-jariya?

Shukran

Answer

 

Wa ʿAlaykumus Salām Wa Raḥmatullāhī Wa Barakātuh

The discharging of Zakāh is such that it requires ownership to be transferred to a recipient of Zakāh i.e., a poor Muslim who is eligible to receive Zakāh.

Zakāh may not be given to a child who enjoys the presence of a family member tending to his needs, however, it may be given to a child who does not enjoy such support.

In the enquired scenario, the child would receive the Zakāh, and thereafter, if he wishes to, he may then utilize it towards his education. However, one may not stipulate and enforce it to that effect.

Alternatively, the one worthy of receiving Zakāh may appoint someone as his representative. This person may then receive Zakāh on his behalf, and thereafter, pay for his education. This representative may also be an official of the school.

Furthermore, the intention of Thawāb al-Jāriyah (perpetual rewards) is confined to those virtuous acts which fall under the ambit of ‘voluntary’ actions, whereas the discharging of one’s Zakāh is of an obligatory/mandatory nature.

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