Zakaah , Dought & clear, - * His brother was rich then he became poor. Can he give him zakaah even though he still has the foundations of his house?

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My brother was a successful businessman, and because he was so well off he started to build a luxury house. After a while his circumstances changed and he became poor. Is it permissible to give him zakaah even though he still owns the foundations of that house which are worth 50,000 dinars? He has nine children and they are in a bad situation.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly: The poor and needy to whom it is permissible to give zakaah are those who do not have sufficient to spend on themselves and their families. If your brother has accommodation that is sufficient for him and his children, then he has to sell the foundations of that house, and spend the proceeds on himself and his children. If he cannot sell it, then it is permissible to give him zakaah for his maintenance and accommodation, but he should not be given zakaah to complete the building of this house, because the poor person should only be given zakaah in order to meet his needs, and your brother’s need for accommodation can be met without building this house, such as by renting a house that is suitable for him.
Secondly:
Giving zakaah to relatives who are entitled to it is better than giving it to people who are not your relatives, because charity given to a relative is both charity and upholding of the ties of kinship. But if these relatives are among those on whom you are obliged to spend, then it is not permissible to give them the zakaah of your wealth, and you are obliged to spend on them.
See the answer to question no. 20278.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen said:
The more closely a person who is entitled to zakaah is related to you, the more he takes priority over others, because your charity given to a relative is both charity and upholding of the ties of kinship. So it is permissible to give your zakaah to someone who is related to you, subject to the condition that you are not obliged to spend on him. If you are obliged to spend on him, then you must spend on him, and it is not permissible for you to give your zakaah to him.
If it so happens that you have a brother from whom no one will inherit except you, and you are rich and are able to spend on him, and he is poor, then it is not permissible for you to give him your zakaah, because what is obligatory for you is to spend on him from your wealth. But if this brother is poor and has children, then it is permissible for you to give him your zakaah, because due to his having children it is not obligatory for you to spend on him, because you are not his heir.
Jumu’ah khutbah (al-Majmoo’ah al-Saabi’ah).
Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:
What is the ruling on giving zakaah to relatives?
He replied:
The basic principle with regard to that is that it is not permissible for a person to give zakaah to any relative on whom he is obliged to spend if that will be a means of not spending on him. But if he is not obliged to spend on this relative – such as a brother, if the brother has sons and he is not obliged to spend on his brother because he is not his heir as the brother has sons – then in this case it is permissible to give zakaah to the brother, if he is entitled to zakaah. Similarly, if a person has relatives who did not need zakaah for their maintenance, but they have debts, it is permissible to pay off their debts, even if that relative is a father, son, daughter or mother, so long as the debt that they owe is not due to his negligence in spending on their maintenance.

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Zakaah , Dought & clear, - * Should he give his zakaah to his son because his salary is low?

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Is it permissible for a father to give the zakaah of his wealth to his married son who does not live with him and whom he does not support? Please note that the son is living on a low salary.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible for a father to give his zakaah to his son, because if the son is poor and the father is rich, the father is obliged to spend on his son, so if he gives him his zakaah, it is as if he is giving it to himself.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said inal-Mughni(2/269): The obligatory charity (zakaah) should not be given to parents or to children. Ibn al-Mundhir said: The scholars are unanimously agreed that it is not permissible to give zakaah to one’s parents in a situation where the giver is required to spend on them, because giving zakaah to them means that they no longer need him to spend on them and that he is spared that duty, so he benefits from it, and it is as if he is giving it to himself.
Similarly, he should not give it to his son. Imam Ahmad said: Zakaah should not be given to one's parents or child, or son’s child, or grandfather or grandmother, or daughter’s child. End quote.
There are two exceptions:
1 – If the son is in debt, in which case it is permissible to give him zakaah, because the father is not obliged to pay off his son’s debt.
2 – If the father does not have enough to spend on his son.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, inal-Ikhtiyaarat(p. 104): It is permissible to give zakaah to parents and other ascendants – meaning grandfathers and grandmothers – and to children and other descendents – meaning grandchildren – if they are poor and he is unable to spend on their maintenance, and also if they are in debt or are slaves who have a contract of manumission with their owners, or are wayfarers. If the mother is poor and has small children who have wealth, and spending on her will affect them, then she may be given some of their zakaah. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it permissible for a person to give zakaah to his son?
He replied: That depends. If he wants to give it to him when he is obliged to spend on him, then that is not permitted. If he wants to pay off a debt on his behalf, such as if there has been a car accident and the car that he hit was damaged, and the car is valued at tens of thousands, then it is permissible for the father to pay it with his zakaah because of this accident.

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Zakaah , Dought & clear, - * Giving zakaah to relatives

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Is it permissible in Islam to give Zakath to poor & deserving close relatives like brothers & sister, Uncles & Aunts ?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Giving zakaah to relatives who are entitled to it is better than giving it to those who are not your relatives, because giving charity to relatives is both charity and upholding the ties of kinship. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Charity given to a poor person is charity, but charity given to a relative is two things, charity and upholding the ties of kinship.”
Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 2581; al-Tirmidhi, 658; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Nasaa’i, 2420.
But if these relatives are among those on whom you are obliged to spend, but you give them your zakaah so that you can save money, then that is not permissible.
But if your wealth is not sufficient to spend on them, then there is nothing wrong with giving them some of your zakaah. Similarly, if they are in debt and you pay off their debts from your zakaah, there is nothing wrong with your doing that, because a person is not obliged to pay off his relative’s debt, so if he pays it off from his zakaah then that is fine. Even if it is your son or your father who owes a debt to someone and cannot pay it off, it is permissible for you to pay it off from your zakaah.

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Zakaah , Dought & clear, - * Giving zakaah to a woman to buy a house for investment purposes

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A woman bought a small building for investment purposes, and she still owes some of the price. Can she be given zakaah funds to pay off this debt, knowing that her husband is poor?
Praise be to Allaah.

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