Q: I have reviewed the recommendation Your Eminence made on the Tawhid and Ansar Al-Sunnah Al-Muhammadiyyah Magazine in
Egypt.
May Allah reward you with the best! My question is: On account of their need for money, is it permissible to support the magazine publishers by giving them Zakah (obligatory charity) in order to help them spread the `Aqidah (creed) of Tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah/ monotheism)? I hope Your Eminence could give a written answer to my question.
A:
It is not permissible
to pay Zakah to support the publication of a religious magazine, or similar matters related to Da`wah (calling to Islam), because the categories of Zakah recipients are exclusive to the eight categories mentioned in Allah's Saying:
As-Sadaqât (here it means Zakât) are only for the Fuqarâ’ (poor), and the Masâkin (needy) and those employed to collect (the funds), and to attract the hearts of those who have been inclined (towards Islâm), and to free the captives, and for those in debt, and for Allâh’s Cause, and for the wayfarer (a traveller who is cut off from everything)
(Part No. 8; Page No. 408) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.