The hila of tamlik: giving a poor person a predetermined sum is not valid

Question

On 17/1/75 last, our late member of parliament (MP), the respected Mu'in al-Haqq Chaudhry, was invited to our place, and when he was asked for two fans and a clock, he estimated the said items at roughly one thousand rupees and promised to give that money out of zakat money. He also said that zakat money cannot be used for a mosque, so he proposed that one thousand rupees be sent in the name of some poor person who takes zakat, and that when the money reached the poor person, the poor person would be given 25…

Answer

The five hundred rupees remained deposited in the post office: not even tamlik (transfer of ownership) took place with regard to them, and the ownership of this poor man over them was not established, so using them for the mosque's fans is entirely impermissible.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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