What do the scholars of the Din and muftis of the Sacred Law state regarding the following issue: Who can we give charity to, is it essential to be poor for charity, and if we purchase a gift for someone, then can this be regarded as charity for them as well?
Questioner: Brother from UK
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایۃ الحق والصواب
Voluntary charity can be given to the rich or poor, as this is only a gift, and it is not required that one be poor or eligible for Zakāh in order to accept a gift, whereas Wājib charity such as Zakāh, Fitrah, etc. can only be given to a poor person as defined by Sharī’ah.
Put easy, a poor person as per Sharī’ah is as follows: If a male or female has the monetary value of 52.5 Tolas (~612.35 grams) of silver, which is approximately £223 GBP nowadays (May 2019), or approximately 40,950 PKR in Pakistan, then such person will not be regarded as poor per Sharī’ah. Likewise, that person is also not poor as per Sharī’ah who may not possess this amount, however owns something which is of this value excluding their basis needs, such as extra furniture, a property given on rent, an empty plot of land, etc.
Furthermore, whatever is bought as a gift, etc. may be included as voluntary charity. Clothes, etc. can also be bought as a gift from the amount for Zakāh and given to those eligible.
To know how to recognise which person is eligible to receive Zakah please read [Q-ID0709] How can I find out if a person is eligible to receive Zakah?
واللہ تعالی اعلم ورسولہ اعلم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم
کتبہ ابو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء قادری
Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qadiri
Translated by Haider Ali
Read the original Urdu answer here: [Q-ID0708] Is buying a gift for someone classed as Sadaqah? Can we give nafl Sadaqah to people who are not poor?
