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Fatwa CenterOrganization Paying Zakaatul-Fitr on Behalf of Muslim Members
Question
Every year at the 20th of Ramadhan, the leaders of our community estimate the amount of Zakah al-Fitr they will be collecting from our Moslem community members that year. Based on this estimation, they issue a check with this estimated amount of money and send it to a charity organization that takes responsibility for distributing the money to the needy Moslems. Our leaders make sure that the amount exceeds the expected amounts that will be collected. When the charity organization was asked if our sent money will get to the needy people on time, they said that they have a large amounts of money in different Moslem countries like Iraq and from that money they give Zakah al-Fitr and they make sure that they spend enough money to cover the expected amount that will be collected. Is this process of estimation acceptable? And when paying Zakah al-Fitr, where does the individual Moslem responsibility end? And where does the responsibility of the Moslem community leaders end? Note: We live in a non-Moslem city where we do not have needy Moslem individuals. Therefore, we send Zakah al-Fitr money overseas.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Originally, Zakaatul-Fitr should be given from the food that is most commonly consumed in the area where the person paying the Zakaah resides.
But it is lawful to pay its equivalent in currency if there is need for that. It is also lawful to transfer this Zakaah from a place where there are less needy Muslims to a place where there are more needy Muslims.
The responsibility of the person giving the Zakaah ends when he pays the Zakaah to the needy themselves or to any trustworthy establishment that will make the Zakaah reach its real recipients. But one takes into consideration the period needed to have the Zakaah reach its recipients in time; i.e., on the ‘Eed day.
So, what you do in Canada conforms to the Sharee’ah if the mentioned companies are trustworthy.
For more benefit on Zakaatul-Fitr, please refer to Fataawa 82511, 81600, and 425395.
Allah knows best.
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