Question:

Salam Sheikh. Launchgood is a P2P fundraising platform. They will be collecting zakat during Ramadhan. They have shared their zakat policy with members. Could you please review and let us know if this policy is good for us to dispense zakat towards.

Answer:

In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Disclaimer: This fatwā is only identifying the parts of LaunchGood’s zakāt policy that we feel need to be corrected. It should be understood that our intent is not to take points from LaunchGood’s policy out of context. There are many things in their policy that we agree with, and we have omitted those and only reproduced parts of their policy we disagree with.

LaunchGood is a crowdfunding platform that allows individuals or organizations to raise funds for causes that they support. An interested party will submit the cause that they are fundraising for and, if approved, LaunchGood will host the campaign.[1] Some campaigns also claim to be zakāt eligible. LaunchGood has compiled zakāt eligibility policies that are used to evaluate these campaigns. If the campaign meets their criteria, it is marked zakāt eligible and given a badge.[2] Their website also states, “every Zakat campaign is individually verified for Zakat eligibility by our team of Zakat experts”[3], but at the time of this writing (March 6, 2024), only one person’s name is included.[4] If a campaign is not zakāt-verified by LaunchGood, it is still allowed to crowdfund on the platform, albeit without the badge.[5]

We have reviewed the zakāt policy that LaunchGood has posted on their website. There are some points in their policy that Daru Iftaa Canada feels are problematic:

1. Zakāt cannot be used for communal projects such as the construction of masjids, orphanages, schools, and hospitals, and they definitely cannot be used for the operational costs of an organization. A condition for the validity of zakāt is that 100% of the donation must be given to a zakāt-eligible recipient in either cash or in-kind (in-kind refers to zakāt funds being used to purchase something, for example food, and then all of the food is given to zakāt eligible recipients. Zakāt funds cannot be used for costs incurred in transporting or distributing the item).[6]

LaunchGood verifies the zakāt eligibility of:

• Shelter and medical facilities for Muslim refugees and Muslim women and children.
• Water wells in areas of drought or areas experiencing a clean water crisis.
• Education programs for refugees
• Job/skill development projects to help the poor and needy escape poverty.
• Cost of food production and distribution in war zones.
• In some limited cases, zakāt to masjids in low-income areas that are unable to pay their rent or utility bills.

All of these causes are noble, and ṣadaqah (general donation) funds can be used for them. For some of the categories listed above, modifications can be made in the way that zakāt is dispersed which would lead to the zakāt given being valid. However, it seems unlikely that these modifications will occur as is evident from the next point.

2. LaunchGood states, “In accordance with our Terms of Use, LaunchGood does not review the internal procedures, accounting, handling or distribution of Zakat funds that is managed by a campaign creator. Users are advised to do their due diligence for any campaign they are funding and follow up with campaign creators to hold them accountable for delivering impact as intended.”

It is the responsibility of the one paying zakāt to do their due diligence in ensuring that their zakāt is discharged properly. In the absence of due diligence, if zakāt is given to an ineligible recipient, the payer’s zakāt will be invalid.[7]

When the zakāt policy is clearly stating that some categories that are questionable are being included and there will be no follow up by LaunchGood to see how the campaign is actually using the funds, due diligence on behalf of the zakāt payer would be lacking.

3. Giving zakāt to “those whose hearts need winning over” (mu’alafah al-qulūb). Darul Iftaa Canada follows the classical stance of the fuqahā’ that this is no longer a valid category of zakāt recipients.[8]

4. Giving Zakāt to “those in Allah’s cause” (fī sabīl Allāh). LaunchGood states that “the funds raised in this category are exclusively for combating Islamophobia or for supporting needy students of Islamic sciences. Needy students would who meet the criteria of zakāt eligibility would qualify based on being poor, but our stance is that funds cannot be given to combat Islamophobia.[9]

This is a door that, when opened, will be constantly expanded to include any and every organization that can claim some connection to Islam, even if some of their positions or alliances are blatantly un-Islamic.

5. From the website, it seems that LaunchGood certifies the zakāt eligibility of some organizations that collect and distribute zakāt and also use the zakāt funds to pay their own employees.[10] (LaunchGood themselves does not use zakāt to pay its own employees).

There are stringent conditions[11] for a zakāt administrator to be an eligible recipient of zakāt, and Darul Iftaa Canada’s stance is that they do not apply to the vast majority of organizations collecting zakāt.

Conclusion

Given the nature of crowdfunding, a variety of campaigns will be hosted by LaunchGood. While it is possible that a campaign marked zakāt-eligible by LaunchGood is actually zakāt eligible, it is not guaranteed. In other words, relying on LaunchGood’s zakāt-verification alone is not sufficient. Zakāt is farḍ (obligatory), and extreme caution must be observed when paying it. The one paying zakāt must take additional due diligence and examine the campaign’s policy. After this, if he or she feels that it is actually zakāt eligible, they may discharge their zakāt though LaunchGood.

A Final Word

We acknowledge and appreciate that LaunchGood has taken efforts to regulate the zakāt being discharged on their platform. As stated initially, there are several points that we are in agreement with. We encourage them to continue striving to refine their policies and processes, bringing it closer to ideal.

And Allāh Taʿālā Knows Best

Muftī Mohammed Wahaajuddin
Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA

Checked and Approved by:

Muftī Faisal bin Abdul Hamīd al-Mahmūdī
Darul Iftaa Canada (www.fatwa.ca)
—

[1] https://www.launchgood.com/v4/about-us

https://www.launchgood.com/how-it-works

[2] https://www.launchgood.com/zakatpolicy

“At LaunchGood, every Zakat campaign is individually verified for Zakat eligibility by our team of Zakat experts… “If the campaign is Zakat-verified A zakat verified-badge is added to the campaign. Donors can then choose to count their donation as Zakat and keep track of their annual giving on the Zakat dashboard.”

[3] https://www.launchgood.com/zakatpolicy

[4] Shaykh Aarij Anwar

[5] https://www.launchgood.com/zakatpolicy

“If the campaign is not Zakat-verified No Zakat-verified badge is shown à Continue to crowdfund for non-Zakat funds.”

[6]

قال الله تعالى: {إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ ۖ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ} (سورة التوبة: ٦٠)

صحيح البخاري، كتاب الزكاة،  باب أخذ الصدقة من الأغنياء وترد في الفقراء حيث كانوا، حديث#١٤٩٦
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِمُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ حِينَ بَعَثَهُ إِلَى الْيَمَنِ‏: إِنَّكَ سَتَأْتِي قَوْمًا أَهْلَ كِتَابٍ، فَإِذَا جِئْتَهُمْ فَادْعُهُمْ إِلَى أَنْ يَشْهَدُوا أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، فَإِنْ هُمْ أَطَاعُوا لَكَ بِذَلِكَ، فَأَخْبِرْهُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ فَرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ خَمْسَ صَلَوَاتٍ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ، فَإِنْ هُمْ أَطَاعُوا لَكَ بِذَلِكَ فَأَخْبِرْهُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ فَرَضَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُؤْخَذُ مِنْ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ فَتُرَدُّ عَلَى فُقَرَائِهِمْ، فَإِنْ هُمْ أَطَاعُوا لَكَ بِذَلِكَ فَإِيَّاكَ وَكَرَائِمَ أَمْوَالِهِمْ، وَاتَّقِ دَعْوَةَ الْمَظْلُومِ، فَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ حِجَابٌ

رد المحتار، كتاب الزكاة، باب مصرف الزكاة والعشر، ج٦ ص٩٠، دار الثقافة والتراث
في الدر المختار: ويشترط أن يكون الصرف (تمليكا) لا إباحة كما مر (لا) يصرف (إلى بناء) نحو (مسجد). وفي الشامية: (قوله: نحو مسجد) كبناء القناطر والسقايات وإصلاح الطرقات وكري الأنهار والحج والجهاد وكل ما لا تمليك فيه زيلعي

تبيين الحقائق، كتاب الزكاة، باب المصرف، ج١ ص ٣٠٠، إمداديه
لا يجوز أن يبنى بالزكاة المسجد لأن التمليك شرط فيها ولم يوجد وكذا لا يبنى بها القناطر والسقايات وإصلاح الطرقات وكري الأنهار والحج والجهاد وكل ما لا تمليك فيه

الفتاوى الهندية، كتاب الزكاة، الباب الثالث في الزكاة الذهب والفضة والعروض، مسائل شتى، ج٣ ص٤٥، مكتبة الاتحاد، ديوبند
ويجوز دفع القيم في الزكاة عندنا، وكذا في الكفارات وصدقة الفطر والعشر، والنذر، كذا في الهداية

أنظر أيضاً: مجمع الأنهر والدر المنتقى، كتاب الزكاة، فصل في زكاة الخيل، ج ١ ص٣٠٠، دار الكتب العلمية، الطبعة الثانية

كتاب المسائل، رفاہی اور مفاد عامہ کاموں میں زکوٰۃ لگاناجائز نہیں، ج٢ ص٢٦٩، دار الاشاعت

[7]

رد المحتار، كتاب الزكاة، باب مصرف الزكاة والعشر، ج٢ ص٣٥٣، سعيد
في الدر المختار:(وإن بان غناه أو كونه ذميا أو أنه أبوه أو ابنه أو امرأته أو هاشمي لا) يعيد لأنه أتى بما في وسعه، حتى لو دفع بلا تحر لم يجز إن أخطأ

وفي الشامية: (قوله: ولو دفع بلا تحر) أي ولا شك كما في الفتح. وفي القهستاني بأن لم يخطر بباله أنه مصرف أو لا، وقوله لم يجز إن أخطأ أي إن تبين له أنه غير مصرف فلو لم يظهر له شيء فهو على الجواز وقدمنا ما لو شك فلم يتحر أو تحرى وغلب على ظنه أنه غير مصرف.

الفتاوى الهندية، كتاب الزكاة، الباب السابع في المصارف، ج١ ص١٨٩-١٩٠، مطبعة الكبرى
وإذا دفعها، ولم يخطر بباله أنه مصرف أم لا فهو على الجواز إلا إذا تبين أنه غير مصرف، وإذا دفعها إليه، وهو شاك، ولم يتحر أو تحرى، ولم يظهر له أنه مصرف أو غلب على ظنه أنه ليس بمصرف فهو على الفساد إلا إذا تبين أنه مصرف هكذا في التبيين.

[8] https://www.basair.net/zakat-methodology-categories-and-scope-a-critique-of-nzfs-strategy-document/

https://www.basair.net/zakat-purpose-objectives-hanafi-school/

[9] Please see previous footnote

[10] “Historically, the recipients of this category were those employed by a Muslim ruler to calculate, collect and distribute Zakat. In modern times, there’s a scholarly difference of opinion on whether employees of nonprofit organizations qualify under this category.

Note: LaunchGood does not collect any Zakat for its own employees. Campaigns that are going to use Zakat funds for this category should indicate this to donors for transparency.

[11]

المبسوط للسرخسي، كتاب الزكاة، باب عشر الأرضين، ج٣ ص٩، مطبعة السعادة
والعاملين عليها، وهم الذين يستعملهم الإمام على جمع الصدقات ويعطيهم مما يجمعون كفايتهم وكفاية أعوانهم، ولا يقدر ذلك بالثمن عندنا خلافا للشافعي – رحمه الله تعالى -؛ لأنهم لما فرغوا أنفسهم لعمل الفقراء كانت كفايتهم في مالهم، ولهذا يأخذون مع الغنى، ولو هلك ما جمعوه قبل أن يأخذوا منه شيئا سقط حقهم كالمضارب إذا هلك مال المضاربة في يده بعد التصرف، وكانت الزكاة مجزية عن المؤدين؛ لأنهم نائبون عن الفقراء بالقبض

رد المحتار، كتاب الزكاة، باب مصرف الزكاة والعشر، ج٢ ص٣٩٩، سعيد
في الدر المختار: (وعامل) يعم الساعي والعاشر (فيعطى) ولو غنيا لا هاشميا لأنه فرغ نفسه لهذا العمل فيحتاج إلى الكفاية 

وفي الشامية: (قوله: يعم الساعي) هو من يسعى في القبائل لجمع صدقة السوائم والعاشر من نصبه الإمام على الطرق ليأخذ العشر ونحوه

https://www.basair.net/zakat-methodology-categories-and-scope-a-critique-of-nzfs-strategy-document/