Can we pay zakat to a newly converted Muslim even if he or she is not ''miskeen'' or poor?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question:

Can we pay zakat to a newly converted Muslim even if he or she is not ''miskeen'' or poor?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

It is a condition for any recipient of zakat that they be poor or needy.

The category of ‘those whose hearts are to be reconciled to Islam’ was abrogated after the establishment of Islam, as stated by Sayyiduna Umar (Allah be pleased with him).  [Kasani, Bada’i` al-Sana’i`; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Wassalam,

Faraz Rabbani

في الدر المختار شرح تنوير الأبصار: ( هي ) لغة الطهارة والنماء , وشرعا ( تمليك )  خرج الإباحة , فلو أطعم يتيما ناويا الزكاة لا يجزيه إلا إذا دفع إليه المطعوم كما لو كساه بشرط أن يعقل القبض إلا إذا حكم عليه بنفقتهم ( جزء مال ) خرج المنفعة , فلو أسكن فقيرا داره سنة ناويا لا يجزيه ( عينه الشارع ) وهو ربع عشر نصاب حولي  خرج النافلة والفطرة ( من مسلم فقير ) ولو معتوها ( غير هاشمي ولا مولاه ) أي معتقه , وهذا معنى قول الكنز تمليك المال : أي المعهود إخراجه شرعا ( مع قطع المنفعة عن المملك من كل وجه ) فلا يدفع لأصله وفرعه ( لله تعالى ) بيان لاشتراط النية

 

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