Fatwa #291068 May 2014United States of America
Can monies collected for sadaqah/charity be deposited in a bank before distribution?
Question
can sadqa/charity money collected in masjid be deposited in a bank to be used at a later time for needy or it has to be in personnal possesion to give to needy. we have 5 accounts with charity as a seperate account. all transation are made through one running account. if we need to give charity to needy, we need to first transfer money in running account and then write a check. is it permissible to give charity this way.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
It is permissible to deposit sadaqah monies into a bank account and dispose of the charity through a bank facility. However, one must be careful that the account is not contaminated with bank interest.
It is not necessary to have physical possession of the money to dispense of it in sadaqah.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Saeed Ahmed Golaub
Jamaica
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved
Mufti Ebrahim Desai