—Zaynab, the wife of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd—wanted to give some of her wealth in charity. Her husband said to her, “I—and your child—are more entitled to receive your charity,” for he himself was poor. She replied, “I will not act until I have asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” When she consulted him, he said, “Ibn Masʿūd has spoken the truth; your husband and your child are the ones most deserving of whatever charity you wish to give.”
One of the legal points derived from this ḥadith is that a person may give his obligatory zakah to his own child, on condition that doing so does not serve to cancel an obligation he already owes.
For example, if someone owes zakah and hands it to his son in order to avoid the ongoing duty of supporting him, the payment is invalid, because the giver’s motive is to escape the obligation of maintenance. By contrast, if he gives his son zakah to settle a debt—say, blood-money from an accident—and thereby clears the son’s liability, this is permissible and counts as valid zakah. In this case the father is simply freeing his son’s liability, not providing daily support, so the zakah is lawful for him. Allah alone grants success. End of citation.
- On the authority of Abū Isḥāq Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ ibn Ayyub ibn ʿAbd Manāf ibn Zuhrah ibn Kilāb—one of the ten who were promised Paradise—who said: “The Messenger of Allah