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A father can give Zakah to his poor married daughter

Question

Can a father give Zakaah to his poor daughter who is married to a poor man?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

The duty of a father to spend on his daughter comes to an end with her marriage - unless that marriage is revoked - as she becomes entitled to expenditure by her husband. The Shaafi‘i scholar, Al-Khateeb Ash-Shirbeeni said, "If she gets married, the father duty to spend on her ends with the marriage contract, even if her husband is in financial straits, unless the marriage is revoked. This is to avoid her receiving two obligatory expenditures".

If the marriage is annulled and the daughter is adult and can earn a living by dressmaking or any profession that suits her, then she should spend on herself; if unable to earn a living, her expenditure is the responsibility of her father. Whenever the expenditure is not the father's duty, like when the daughter is married, he may give Zakah to her; and when it is his duty, he cannot give her Zakah, as this will be a substitute for the obligatory expenditure and a trckery to save money.

Allaah Knows best.

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