Paying the Zakat to an Appointed Person
Question :

Is it permissible for Zakat to be given to a particular appointed person in the Community? What if the appointed person or group does not spend the Zakat money as per Islamic guidelines, can we pay them the Zakat?

Answer :

It is permissible to give the zakat to the appointed person if he is trustworthy to pass it to whoever deserves it. If one is not sure of his trustworthiness, his payment of Zakat to him is invalid.

Preference in Paying Khums and Zakat
Question :

Is it permissible for me to give preference to practicing believers especially men having a beard and women observing hijab in giving alms, khums, zakat?

Answer :

It is not permissible to pay such financial obligations to the consumer of wine and it is permissible to do so to sinners if they are needy. Based on compulsory precaution, it is not permissible to pay the committer of major sins which are worse than consuming wine, such as not performing the prayers.

Zakat al-Fitra
Question :

If I am a guest, can I free my host from the liability of paying my family’s Zakat al-Fitra?

Answer :

It is permissible to free the host from your Zakat al-Fitra by paying it yourself.

Paying Zakat in Cash
Question :

When Zakat al-Fitra is given to a poor person in cash rather than food, is it obligatory for the recipient to spend it on food?

Answer :

It is not obligatory to spend the money of Zakat al-Fitra on food.

Transfering Zakat
Question :

Is it obligatory or obligatory precaution to spend zakat al-fitra only on poor and needy Shia Muslim of my local area if they are present, or can we give it to them in other areas?

Answer :

If one separates the zakat monies, it is not permissible to transfer them to another city if there is a needy Shia in the same city based on obligatory precaution. If there is no needy Shia present in the city, it is permissible to transfer the money.

Recommended Zakat
Question :

What is recommended Zakat?

Answer :

It means recommended charity (sadaqah).

Common Food
Question :

It is mentioned that the food given as Zakat al-Fitra should be common staple food of the region. Does this mean the region of the giver or that of the recipient?

Answer :

This refers to the common staple food of the giver’s region.