.Salaams. I was taking part in a recent Islamic webinar where the speaker discussed collaboration and contribution including zakat based on the following verse.
Indeed, Zakat expenditures are only for
[1] the poor and
[2] the needy, and
[3] to those who work on [administering] it, and
[4] for bringing hearts together, and
[5] to [free] those in bondage, and
[6] for those in debt, and [7] for the cause of God, and
[8] for the stranded traveller. [This is] an
obligation from God. God is All-Knowing,
All-Wise.”
(Qur’an, Chapter 9, Verse 60)
He seemed to imply based on this that local community giving is better and can be given for community projects, organisations, think tanks, infrastructure projects etc as this is for the cause of god. My view has been very traditional in that zakat elegiblity was only for Muslims in hardship and below the threshold for nisab. In Leicester there are causes such as the city retreat in financial need, the peace centre which I would consider doing work for Allah’s cause helping the community in need both Muslims and non muslims. However, I’m unclear if my zakat can be used lawfully here or not as it doesn’t fit into what I always thought were the rules for zakat distribution traditionally. Can zakat be given for such causes mentioned above or is that incorrect and better to give these organisations Sadakah instead? I know from the nzf website they do offer support for training and education via zakat on application and have in the past used zakat to fund organisations but not recently. Your help in understanding these 8 categories and how they apply to zakat distribution in current times would be helpful.
Wasalam
May Allah bless you.
In regards to the 8 categories, I think there are already great resources out there to study in order to have a better idea. NZF has a knowledge bank with plenty of Q&As and videos addressing the issues you mentioned.
However, as for giving zakat to non Muslims, zakat is collected from Muslims (non Muslims are exempted), and to be given to Muslims only. That is the general rule. However, category 4 has been opened for debate between the scholars as to whether it is still applicable nowadays or not, and who actually falls under this category.
Hence, you are encouraged to give sadaqah to projects which include non Muslims recipients, and spend your zakat towards other avenues approved by scholars.
Jazakallah khair for the response.