Should the money go to the heir or to the madrasa?

Question

A man received zakat money. That man was blind and disabled in his legs. He placed that money in trust (amana) with another man and then passed away. The deceased has no heir; only a sister’s son of the deceased is alive. At the time of death the trustee (amin) was not near the deceased either, nor did the deceased make any bequest for anyone else. So should the trustee now give this sum to a madrasa, to the sister’s son, or to a poor person?

Answer

The sister’s son is also a kind of heir: if there is no entitled heir closer than him, let him give it to the sister’s son. He has no right to give it to the madrasa.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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