Zakat to a sayyid when there is no bayt al-mal

Question

Giving zakat to a sayyid is impermissible, yet nowadays there is no system of bayt al-mal (the Muslim treasury) anywhere in all of India; how then can they be helped, and where are the poor souls to go? Can they, in this situation, be entitled to zakat? Explain, and be rewarded.

Answer

The wealthy should serve them from voluntary gifts (tabarru‘at). Zakat, after all, is dirt, and the standing of the sayyids is too high for them to be fed dirt: [ar]ولا تدفع إلى بني هاشم؛ لقوله عليه السلام: يا بني هاشم، إن الله قد حرم عليكم غسالة الناس وأوساخهم[/ar] “And it is not given to the Banu Hashim, because of the Prophet’s ﷺ saying: ‘O Banu Hashim, Allah has forbidden…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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