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Question: When you can't fast and you must feed a poor person everyday, what is the fiqh of a ‘poor person’ and does it apply here in America? If not, do we send money to a poor country?

Answer: As for the expiation, (for example, here it is pertaining to a person who broke his fast because of a valid reason; the elderly person or the person who doesn’t have the ability to fast), these people have to feed a poor person who is unable (to maintain himself). The miskeen (the needy) is described and defined by the People of Knowledge as ‘the one who cannot find even half of that which he needs’; or put another way, he has some of the things he needs and he is in need of the remainder. As for the faqeer (the poor), he is the one who doesn't have anything at all; or, he has less than half of the things which he actually needs to survive.

For example; a person who is married and has a wife and children, but his monthly salary is not enough to buy food and drinks for his entire family, or to pay the rent; so he finds himself at the end of every month needing to go and ask people (for assistance) – this person is a miskeen, a needy person. On the other hand, you may find a person who has no job, no monthly salary at all. This is a poor person (faqeer).

The principle pertaining to this issue is that the person who is feeding the poor or the needy people (as expiation), should feed them in the place or country where he resides. But, as you asked in your question, if the country that you are in is not a Muslim country, then the person has to first determine if there are Muslims in this non-Muslim country and feed them. If there are no Muslims and there are no poor Muslims in that country in which you reside, then it is okay Inshaa’ Allaah, to send that which is enough to feed other poor people in other Muslim countries and Allaah knows best.

Answered by: Shaykh Fahad Al Fuhayd حفظه الله

Title of Lecture: Golden Naseehah to the Seekers of Knowledge

Date of the Lecture: November 19th, 2005

Listen to Lecture: Click Here

Read the Transcribed Lecture: Click Here