Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah

Can i pay his funeral costs with Zakaat money?

· 18 Ramadan 1429 AH1 min readFatwa 17146English

Question

can i pay for someone's funeral out of zakat money i intended to give them after eid. He passed away during the time i intended to pay him and the date i was going to pay him. He is abroad and his wife/daughter can not pay the large amount. He was entitled to receive zakat when he was alive.

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh

It will not be permissible to give one’s zakāh to a deceased person. Making a living person the owner of the wealth and giving over to his or her possession is a condition of zakāh. A permissible alternative would be to discharge your zakāh to one of the poor and needy family members of the deceased who will then use that money for the funeral expenses.

And Allah knows best

Wassalam

Ml. Yusuf bin Yaqub,
Student Darul Iftaa

Concurred by:

Ml. Ehzaz Ajmeri,
Student Darul Iftaa

Darul Iftaa

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

إذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يُكَفِّنَ مَيِّتًا عَنْ زَكَاةِ مَالِهِ لَا يَجُوزُ ( وَالْحِيلَةُ فِيهِ أَنْ يَتَصَدَّقَ بِهَا عَلَى فَقِيرٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَيِّتِ ) ، ثُمَّ هُوَ يُكَفِّنُ بِهِ الْمَيِّتَ فَيَكُونُ لَهُ ثَوَابُ الصَّدَقَةِ وَلِأَهْلِ الْمَيِّتِ ثَوَابُ التَّكْفِينِ (الفتاوى الهندية ج 6 ص 392 ، مكتبة رشيدية)

Answered by
Ml. Yusuf bin Yaqub
Checked by
Ml. Ehzaz Ajmeri
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Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/17146
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-17146

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