Issue

A widow with three children marries a man. The widow’s former husband is still alive and continues to provide financial maintenance for their children. One of the widow’s children continues his/her studies and requires financial assistance. The man (the widow’s new husband) intends to allocate part of his zakat under the asnaf fi sabilillah category to his stepchild.

Question:
Is the stepchild considered to be under his financial responsibility and therefore obligated to be maintained by him?
Is his zakat payment valid?

Decision

Based on the translated text of Kifayah al-Akhyar (Fiqh of Imam al-Shafi‘i), page 954, according to the Shafi‘i school of thought, the obligation to provide financial maintenance arises from three causes:

1. Kinship (al-Qarabah)

2. Bondage (ar-Riqqah)

3. Marriage (al-Musaharah)

The obligation of maintenance due to kinship includes, for example, biological parents providing maintenance to their biological children who are still minors and do not have income. Similarly, biological children are obligated to maintain their biological parents who are elderly and have no income.

A stepfather is not included among those who are obligated to provide maintenance to a stepchild, as there is no kinship relationship (al-Qarabah) between them.

Therefore, the stepfather is permitted to distribute his zakat to his stepchild under the asnaf fi sabilillah category.

Reference

Issue 14, Compilation of Shariah Issue Records of Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS), January 2018 – June 2018,
Approved by the LZS Shariah Advisory Committee Meeting.