If the fasting of nine years has accumulated upon me, I wish to make them up by dividing them over several years, as it is difficult to fast them all in one year due to their large number. Consequently, expiation will be due on me. Is it permissible to pay the expiation after completing all the make-up fasts, even if it takes years?
If the fasting was broken due to a valid legal excuse, it is permissible to divide the make-up fasts over several years based on one’s ability. However, if a person passes away before completing the make-up fasts, the heirs must fast on their behalf or feed one needy person for each missed day.
If the fasting was broken without a valid excuse, one must hasten to make it up. Should the person die before completing the make-up fasts, the heirs must either fast or feed the needy on their behalf. As for the expiation, it is calculated after completing all the make-up fasts. And Allah Knows Best.
We collect funds from mosques and other sources, saying: "For the poor, the needy, widows, orphans, and those who do not beg insistently." After paying the stipends of the families registered with the Zakat Committee, an amount exceeding 6,000 dinars remained. Is it permissible for me to save it for upcoming months when I may not be able to collect the stipends?
These funds are received by the committee as representatives of the zakat payers to deliver zakat to those entitled to it. It is well-known that delaying zakat while being able to pay it is not permissible. Imam Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Zakat must be paid immediately if one is able to do so, by the presence of wealth and the eligible categories." [Al-Minhaj] Therefore, the committee must distribute the zakat to the eligible recipients without installment payments or using it to purchase material goods for them, as the committee does not have authority over the poor to allocate it in this way. And Allah Knows Best.
Someone asked me to pay off his debt on his behalf as a loan, without any compensation. When I went to the creditor, he told me that if I paid the full amount at once, rather than in installments, he would give me a certain discount. Is this permissible? And if he applies the discount, to whom does the deducted amount belong?
If part of the debt is paid and the creditor forgives the remaining amount, the waiver is valid, and the remaining debt is no longer the responsibility of the original debtor. The person who paid the debt on behalf of another has no right to claim any portion of the original debt. And Allah Knows Best.
Is it permissible to pay the expiation of an oath to a charitable party as it feeds the poor and needy such as Tkiyet Um Ali?
There is no harm on authorizing someone to handle the expiation of another to the poor and needy, since Shafiee's jurists stated that authorizing someone for the purpose of distributing Zakah, expiation and vow is permissible as stated in [Mughni Al-Muhtajj,vol.3/pp.237]. At last, the intention of the person who intends to authorize someone else suffices in this regard. And Allah Knows Best.
