Must Zakat Be Paid in Advance If Charity Distributes It Monthly and Charges Admin Fees?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I pay a full year’s orphan sponsorship in advance during Ramadan and count it as Zakat. The charity distributes the funds monthly. Can I consider the full amount as zakat now, or must the recipients receive it all at once?

If a charity deducts administrative costs from zakat, is it permissible to donate zakat to them if one covers the admin fees separately?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Yes, you can consider the entire amount as zakat when you make the payment, even if the charity distributes it monthly. The main condition for zakat to be valid is that the funds must be given to eligible recipients or to a trusted agent acting on their behalf.

In such situations, it is best to discuss the matter with the charity organization you are dealing with to see whether they can act as agents on your behalf to give zakat to these children. Thus, they could buy food, clothing, or other wealth items for these children and then give them to them with the intention of zakat. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Please go through the valuable answers and links below. Insha’Allah, they will provide you with guidance and direction.

Related

• Can I use My Zakat to Sponsor a Child?
• Zakat: How to Calculate & Whom to Give …
• Zakat: A Comprehensive SeekersGuidance Reader 
• Zakat Calculator

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance? You can choose from the Islamic Studies Curriculum or the Youth Islamic Studies Curriculum and progress through each course step by step.

I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.