Dought & clear, - To whom should zakaat al-fitr be paid?

Men are asking for zakaat al-fitr in the marketplace, and we donot
know whether they are religiously committed or not. Thereare others
whose situation is comfortable,and whatever they get of the zakaah
they spend on their children. Some of them receive a salary but they
are weakin religious commitment. Is it permissible to give themzakaat
al-fitr or not?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Zakaat al-fitr should be given to poor Muslims even if they are
sinners so long as their sin is notsomething that puts them beyond the
pale ofIslam. What is meant by poor is those who appear to be poor,
even if they are in fact rich. The one who is paying the zakaah should
seek out good poor people asmuch as possible. If he finds out later
that the one who took it was actually rich, that does not affect the
one who gave it, rather he has discharged his duty, praise be to
Allaah.
And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Dought & clear, - Does he have to pay zakaat al-fitr on behalf of the orphan whom he is sponsoring?

Many people sponsor orphans; do they have to pay zakaat al-fitr on their behalf?
Praise be to Allah.
Zakaat al-fitr is obligatory upon every Muslim, whether male orfemale,
young or old, because of the hadeeth of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be
pleased with him) who said: The Messengerof Allah (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) enjoined zakaat al-fitr upon the people at the
end of Ramadan, asaa' of dates or a saa' of barley, upon everyone,
free or slave, male or female, among the Muslims. Narrated by
al-Bukhaari (1504) and Muslim (984). The orphan is included in
thegeneral meaning of the word people.
Based on that, if the orphan has any wealth, zakaat al-fitr must be
paid from it; it is an obligation upon him that he must pay from his
own wealth, and the one who is sponsoring him does not have to give
zakaat al-fitr on his behalf, because he is able to afford it. But if
his sponsor gives it on his behalf voluntarily, that is acceptable.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:The orphan who has wealth
is obliged to pay his zakaat al-fitr from hiswealth, in our opinion.
That was also the view of the majority of scholars, including Maalik,
Abu Haneefah and Ibn al-Mundhir. End quote fromal-Majmoo', 6/109
Al-Bahooti said inKashshaaf al-Qinaa'(2/247): It is obligatory upon
every Muslim… male or female, old or young, because of the report
quoted above, even if he is an orphan. It must be paid from the
individual's wealth. That was stated [by Imam Ahmad]. End quote.
But if the orphan does not have any wealth, then his zakaat al-fitr
must be paid by the one who is Islamically obliged to spend on this
orphan among his relatives. As for the one who is sponsoring him: he
is not obliged to pay zakaat al-fitr on his behalf, because he is
spending on him voluntarily.
This is the view of the majority of scholars (including the three
imams, Abu Haneefah, Maalik and ash-Shaafa'i),because they say that
zakaat al-fitr is obligatory upon every Muslim and those whom he is
obliged to support. The one who sponsors an orphan is voluntarily
sponsoring him, so he is not obliged to give zakaat al-fitr on behalf
of the orphan.
The view of Imam Ahmad is that whoever is spending on a person during
the month of Ramadan, even if he does so voluntarily, is obliged to
give zakaat al-fitr on that person's behalf. Imam Ahmad stated that
whoever takes in an orphan girl must give zakaat al-fitr on her
behalf.
Some of the Hanbalis, such as Ibn Qudaamah, favoured the view that
this is not obligatory, and they interpreted thewords of Imam Ahmad
mentioned above as meaning that it is mustahabb (recommended).
See:al-Mughni(4/306);ash-Sharh al-Kabeer, (7/97)
To sum up: the one who voluntarily sponsors an orphan is not obliged
to pay zakaat al-fitr on behalf of the orphan. Rather zakaat al-fitr
must be paid from the orphan's wealth if he has any wealth; if he does
not have any wealth then zakaat al-fitr must be paid by his relative
who is Islamically obliged to spend on him.
And Allah knows best.

Admit your Mistake whenever you are wrong

When Bilqees arrived, she was amazed to see her throne and realized
what power Allah (swt) had given to Prophet Sulayman (as). She then
entered the palace through the courtyard whose floor was made ofglass.
Thinking that it was a pool of water, she raised her clothes to pass
through it. When ProphetSulayman (as) informed her, what it was, she
was overwhelmed with wonder and accepted him to be a prophet of Allah
(swt). She said, "O Lord, I have wronged myself in worshipping the sun
instead of you. I therefore give in myself with Sulayman to You, the
Lord of the Worlds."
Prophet Sulayman (as) then married Bilqees andthereafter she returned
to her land, where he visited her frequently. The people of Saba who
were sun-worshippers, were converted to believe in Allah (swt) and to
worship none other than Him.

Seek Knowledge wherever you are: It can do Wonders

Meanwhile, on the ordersof Prophet Sulayman (as),a palace of glass was
built in honor of Bilqees. Even the floor was made of glass and water
was put under it with different kinds of fish. The whole floor looked
like a pool of water without the glass showing on top.
Sulayman (as) then askedwho could bring the throne of Bilqees to him.
Jinn stepped forward and said, "I will bring thethrone before you rise
from your seat." One man, who was given a little knowledge by Allah
(swt), said, "I will bring it in the twinkling of an eye." When
Prophet Sulayman (as) saw the throne before him, he praised Allah
(swt) and thanked Him for His favors.