ARRANGING IFTAARI WITH ZAKAAT FUNDS

It is permissible and correct to organize and arrange iftari with the money of Zakaat for those who are worthy and entitled of Zakaat, and in this case, every deserving person of Zakaat must be given the iftari items separately by making them the owner of it, so that the condition of Tamleek (ownership) for the payment of Zakaat is fulfilled, otherwise Zakaat will not be discharged. It should be noted that if the recipients of Zakaat are invited to break the fast without making them the owners of the food items of iftari, then Zakaat will not be discharged. It is in Durr e Mukhtaar:

Translation: If a man feeds an orphan while intending to give Zakaat, it will not be sufficient for him, except when the food is handed over to him (i.e. he is made the owner of it and not merely by feeding him). (Durr e Mukhtaar volume 3, page 171/Chapter of Zakaat/ Darul Kutbul Ilmiyyah Beirut) It is in Raddul Muhtaar:

Translation: When a person takes responsibility for the affairs of an orphan and in this case, he dresses and feeds the orphan and considers it as Zakaat

from his wealth, then there is no doubt about the permissibility in the clothing, because the condition of Zakaat is being found, which is Tamleek (ownership). As for food, the food that he puts in his hand is also permissible for the same reason we have stated (i.e. ownership). The food that orphan eats while not being given to him is a different matter. (Raddul Muhtaar volume 3, Page 172/Chapter of Zakaat/Darul Kutbul Ilmiyyah Beirut) In response to a similar question, Imam e Ahle Sunnat Sayyidi Huzoor Ala Hazrat Alaihir Rahma writes in Fataawa Razviyyah Shareef: In the case when having clothes sewn and then giving it to the orphans and poor people by making them the owner of it, or cooking food and sending it to their house by making them the owner of it, then in such a case, this sewn clothing and cooked food will be counted as Zakaat according to the market price. The expenses incurred in sewing clothes and cooking food will not be counted in Zakaat, and if he cooks the food in his house and feeds the orphans and the poor while sitting at the table, as is done in feasts, then it cannot be Zakaat. ( لانها تمليك و هذه اباحةBecause in Zakaat, one has to make an ownership and in this case it is not an ownership but an Ibaahat i.e. it is simply making it lawful). (Fataawa Razviyyah Shareef, Volume 10, Page 262, Raza Foundation, Lahore) It is in Bahaar-e-Shari'at: (Simply) making it Mubah (lawful) does not fulfil the Zakaat. For example, if a Faqeer is fed some food with the Niyyat of Zakaat, the Zakaat has not been discharged, because in doing so the (condition) of making him the Maalik (owner) is non-existent. If one gave him the food; in the sense that he may either eat it or take it with him, then, in this case, it (Zakaat) has been discharged. Similarly, if clothing was given to a Faqeer, or if he dressed him in it, the Zakaat is discharged. (Bahaar e Shariat, Part 5, Page 29, Imam Mustafa Raza Research Centre, Overport, Durban, South Africa)