The Ethics of Charitable Giving: Using Collected Funds for the Intended Purpose

Trustworthiness in Charity: Spending Collected Money for the Right Cause

Question: If money is collected for a specific purpose, should it be used only for that purpose, or can some of it be given to another charitable cause? For example, if women collect money to help a sick person and another sick woman comes and asks for some money, can some of the collected money be given to her even though it was collected for another sick person? Would this be considered deceitful?

Answer: The principle is that the money collected for a specific sick person should be spent on that person. This is the requirement of trustworthiness because the money was collected for that specific purpose, and people donated with the intention of helping that particular person. Therefore, the money should be spent on the person for whom it was collected.

If, after the treatment and recovery of the sick person, some money remains, it can then be spent on another needy person. However, it should not be diverted to another cause before the initial purpose is fulfilled.

 Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi (may Allah preserve him)

❪Jeddah Dawah Center, Hayy al-Salamah – Saudi Arabia❫