Paying a minor’s school fees with Zakaat
Question
An eight-year-old child is in school. The parents cannot afford the school fees for the child. Can we assist them by paying their child’s school fees with Zakaat money?
Answer
In normal cases, parents enrol their child at a school and are responsible for paying the school fees on their behalf. The payment of the school fees are not levied on the child. Rather, it is levied on the parents.
Therefore, if the parents of the child are eligible recipients of Zakaat, the parents may be assisted with Zakaat to pay their child’s school fess. If the parents of the child are not eligible recipients of Zakaat, they cannot be assisted with Zakaat to pay their child’s school fess. They may only be assisted with Lillah.
And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
- Answered by
- Mufti Ismaeel Bassa
- Checked by
- Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Jamiatul Ulama KZN. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, ask the issuing Darul Ifta directly.