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Fatwa CenterCan one give Zakat to his younger sisters who are dependent on him?
Question
Assalamualaikum, My father is retired. I have one elder brother and two younger sisters. One sister is studying others are unemployed. All are dependent on me. I am unmarried and spend on my family. I have another elder brother who lives separately with her family and do not spend on our family.My question is can I give zakat to my younger sisters?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
If your two sisters are in need and their father does not support them with enough money due to his poverty, there is nothing wrong with paying Zakah to them, and this fulfills your religious obligation.
Muslim jurists had different opinions concerning paying Zakah to relatives; some of them considered it permissible and others considered it impermissible. However, the preponderant opinion followed by most scholars since the age of the Prophet’s Companions, their Followers, and those who followed them is that it is permissible to pay Zakah to relatives as long as they are not one’s father or children one must provide for.
If one spends voluntarily on his brother, sister, or any other relative for whom he is not obliged to provide, he should not be prevented from paying Zakah to them as long as they need it. It was stated in Imam Ash-Shafi`i’s book entitled “Al-Umm”: “Kaffarat (plural of Kaffarah which means an expiation that makes up for a violation) and Zakah may be given to any person whom one is not obliged to provide for. Therefore, it should not be given to the father, son, and wife. Relatives may be given Zakah if they are in need, as they will be more entitled to it than other people. If one spends on them voluntarily, he may pay Zakah to them. [End quote]
Allah knows best.
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