UNHCR: Trusted Zakat Distributor

  • UNHCR's Refugee Zakat Fund is compliant and backed by 5 fatwas, mentioning 3 essential points: UNHCR can distribute Zakat funds, Zakat must be given to the categories mentioned in Quran 9:60, and Zakat must not be used to cover expenses or wages.
unhcr zakat arrow white Read fatwas
Dedicate your Zakat

Refugee Families Need Your Zakat

Trusted Zakat Distributor
100% Zakat Distribution Policy
  • The Refugee Zakat Fund delivers life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable refugee and displaced families from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Myanmar, and Mali. Refugees are eligible to receive Zakat as they fall under 4 of the 8 Zakat categories.
unhcr zakat arrow white Discover more

100% Zakat Distribution Policy

  • UNHCR is unique in pledging that 100% of Zakat funds go directly to the most vulnerable refugees, including in hard-to-reach areas. Through the Refugee Zakat Fund, your support is felt immediately by those most in need.
arrow white About the Refugee Zakat Fund
"Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them to increase."

[Al Tawba:103]

Imagine What Your Zakat Can Do For Refugees This Ramadan

This year, in such uncertain times, refugees are living in an ‘emergency within an emergency’, and more of them will require UNHCR’s humanitarian assistance. Our goal is to maintain this lifesaving support that refugee and displaced families solely rely on all year long. This Ramadan, every $920 of Zakat allows 1 vulnerable family to cover its immediate needs for an entire year. Providing urgent cash assistance allows families to pay for rent, food, water, medicine and debt.

Calculate your Zakat here and dedicate it to the families of your choice; and rest assured that 100% of your Zakat will go directly to them.

100% Zakat Distribution Policy

If you wish to donate through Paypal please make sure you select the USD currency

Your privacy
By submitting this form, you acknowledge you are aware that your personal data will be used in line with our Privacy Policy. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at care@unhcr.org
Dedicate your Zakat
donation loader

Step 1

Please use the following bank account details: Kindly note the different IBAN for each currency.

UNHCR Non-Interest Bearing Fundraising Accounts:

In the transfer description field, please use “Zakat MENA” followed by the destination country of your Zakat (Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Egypt or Mauritania)

Step 2

Please notify us at care@unhcr.org when the bank transfer is done. Please make sure to include your name, the amount of your donation, contact info and country of residence. This will help us track your donation and update the counter of the families supported.

Please include your contact details (Email and phone number) when proceeding with the transfer so we can confirm receiving your gift and communicate with you properly

secure-icon-master
worldpay-icon
paypal-icon
visa-icon
mastercard-icon
maestro-icon
american-express-icon
3212
Refugee Families
Saved in 2020
10226
People Donated Their
Zakat in 2020

UNHCR's Refugee Zakat Fund is a trusted, compliant and effective distributor.

Majority of the world’s 26 million refugees fall under at least 4 of the 8 Zakat categories.

Over 80% of the world’s refugee population and nearly all the world’s internally displaced people are hosted in low to middle-income countries, many of which have weaker health and water systems.

Dedicate your Zakat
Dar al-Ifta al-Missriyyah
Fatwa
Dar al-Ifta al-Missriyyah

Dar al-Ifta al-Missriyyah is one of Egypt’s centers for Islamic legal research. It was established in 1895 CE and is…

unhcr-zakat-arrow-gray Read more
Senior Scholars’ Council of Morocco
Fatwa
Senior Scholars’ Council of Morocco

The Senior Scholars’ Council of Morocco is the highest official religious authority in Morocco, which includes a fatwa council. Their…

unhcr-zakat-arrow-gray Read more
The Fatwa Council of Tareem
Fatwa
The Fatwa Council of Tareem

The Fatwa Council of Tareem is located in Hadramaut, Yemen. Hadramaut has been a major center for scholarship for over…

unhcr-zakat-arrow-gray Read more
Dr Sheikh Ali Gomaa
Fatwa
Dr Sheikh Ali Gomaa

Dr Sheikh Ali Gomaa is the former Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt and professor of Islamic jurisprudence…

unhcr-zakat-arrow-gray Read more
Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayya
Fatwa
Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayya

Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayya is the chairman of the UAE’s Fatwa Council, and an instructor at King Abdulaziz University in…

unhcr-zakat-arrow-gray Read more
Why should I consider refugees with my Zakat?
Majority of the world’s 26 million refugees fall under at least 4 of the 8 Zakat categories.

Over 80% of the world’s refugee population and nearly all the world’s internally displaced people are hosted in low to middle-income countries, many of which have weaker health and water systems.

Dedicate your Zakat
pink icon Abna’ al Sabeel
The Stranded Travellers or Wayfarers
The Stranded Travellers or Wayfarers
Abna’ al Sabeel
The Stranded Travellers or Wayfarers

A wayfarer is someone who is travelling on foot, which is the case for the vast majority of refugees, who…

gray-arrow Read more
pink icon al Gharemeen
The Debtors
The Debtors
al Gharemeen
The Debtors

Over 50% of refugee and displaced families are in debt. After losing their homes and possessions, and exhausting their savings,…

gray-arrow Read more
pink icon Al Fuqara’ wal Masakeen
The Poor and the Needy
The Poor and the Needy
Al Fuqara’ wal Masakeen
The Poor and the Needy

Most refugees are poor and in need of support to survive; they lack assets or income in their long stays…

gray-arrow Read more
UNHCR is following a 100% Zakat distribution policy.
UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund is subject to rigorous governance, ensuring transparency at every step, from donation to distribution of Zakat.

Dedicate your Zakat

100% of Zakat donations is distributed to the most vulnerable refugee and internally displaced families, including in hard-to-reach areas including Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Mauritania and Bangladesh. This support goes in full to help families affected by lockdowns and lack of economic opportunities. Exceptionally for Zakat funds, UNHCR has waived its standard 6.5% indirect support costs, in order to ensure that 100% of your Zakat goes directly to the most vulnerable families. Any expenses associated with the distribution of Zakat are covered by other sources of funding to UNHCR. Annual reports about the distribution of Zakat funds and their impact on the lives of beneficiaries, are published on this website. All Zakat received by UNHCR is strictly channeled through Zakat-compliant cash and in-kind assistance programmes that complement other forms of aid provided by UNHCR.

 

The Journey of Zakat Funds from Donor to Recipient


Do you know?

How your Zakat helps vulnerable refugee and displaced families

By ensuring their immediate needs, cash assistance helps prevent thousands of refugees who are restricted from working in host countries from facing severe hardships, and enables them to address their needs according to their own priorities. It also helps in improving their social networks by repaying loans borrowed from family, neighbours, and landlords which therefore reduces household tensions. Additionally, it benefits the local economy as refugees become customers at local shops and markets. Vulnerable families are often headed by women alone who can face cultural, legal and childcare obstacles when looking for work. Providing them with cash assistance helps prevent them from resorting to desperate survival strategies – such as pulling children out of school and child labour.

Do you know?

How your Zakat helps vulnerable refugee and displaced families

By ensuring their immediate needs, cash assistance helps prevent thousands of refugees who are restricted from working in host countries from facing severe hardships, and enables them to address their needs according to their own priorities. It also helps in improving their social networks by repaying loans borrowed from family, neighbours, and landlords which therefore reduces household tensions. Additionally, it benefits the local economy as refugees become customers at local shops and markets. Vulnerable families are often headed by women alone who can face cultural, legal and childcare obstacles when looking for work. Providing them with cash assistance helps prevent them from resorting to desperate survival strategies – such as pulling children out of school and child labour.

Dedicate your Zakat