The Fatwa Council of Tareem is located in Hadramaut, Yemen. Hadramaut has been a major centre for scholarship for over a millennium and has produced many of the world’s leading Shafi’i scholars. The fatwa starts by reasserting that Zakat funds must be distributed to the categories mentioned in the verse 60 of Surah 9 in the Quran: {Zakat expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [Zakat] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveller – an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise}. It also mentions that Zakat cannot be given to non-Muslims. The fatwa goes on by explaining that, normally, the agent of Zakat is either the Governor or his representative, or the person in charge of the goods of another person. Then the fatwa explains the conditions set by the Shafi’i school in case of giving Zakat to an agent who is not Muslim, as this is the case when giving Zakat to some charities or organizations. There are three conditions: the Zakat donor should … Continue reading The Fatwa Council of Tareem | Yemen