(Excerpt taken from Shaykh Javed Iqbal Sialkoti’s book: “Parents and the Rights of Children”)
عَنْ زَيْنَبَ امْرَأَةِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَتْ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: تَصَدَّقْنَ يَا مَعْشَرَ النِّسَاءِ وَلَوْ مِنْ حُلِيِّكُنَّ...
Zaynab (the wife of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنهما) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “O women, give charity, even from your jewelry.”
Zaynab said:
I went to ʿAbdullāh (her husband) and said, “You are a man of limited means, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has commanded us to give charity. Go to him and ask whether it would be acceptable for me to give charity to you and to the orphans in my care. If it is permissible, I will do so; otherwise, I will give elsewhere.”
ʿAbdullāh said to me, “You go yourself.”
So I went, and found an Anṣārī woman at the door of the Prophet ﷺ for the same purpose.
Bilāl came out, so we said to him, “Go to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and tell him that two women are at the door asking whether their charity will suffice for their husbands and for the orphans under their care. Do not tell him who we are.”
Bilāl entered and asked. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Who are they?”
Bilāl replied, “A woman from the Anṣār and Zaynab.”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Which Zaynab?”
He replied, “The wife of ʿAbdullāh.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “They will have two rewards — the reward of kinship and the reward of charity.”
Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Zakah, Chapter: The Virtue of Spending and Giving Charity to Relatives – Hadith: 2318
زَوْجُكِ وَوَلَدُكِ أَحَقُّ مَنْ تَصَدَّقْتِ عَلَيْهِمْ.
The Prophet ﷺ said to Zaynab (the wife of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه):
“Your husband and your children are more deserving of your charity than anyone else.”
Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Zakah, Chapter: Zakat on Relatives – Hadith: 1462
① These narrations clearly prove that a woman may give her charity and zakat to her husband and children if they are among those eligible to receive zakat.
② However, a husband cannot give zakat or charity to his wife and children, because their expenses are already his responsibility.
③ Scholars, such as al-Thawri, al-Shafiʿi, the companions of Abu Hanifah, one narration from Malik, and Ahmad, as well as al-Hadi, al-Nasir, and al-Mu’ayyad Billah, have all deduced from this hadith that it is permissible for a woman to give her zakat to her husband, provided that he is eligible.
Supporting Text:
“This is a valid proof if it is accepted that the charity mentioned here was obligatory (zakat), as indicated by her words: ‘Would it suffice for me…?’”
Nayl al-Awtar, vol. 4, p. 177
① A woman may give zakat and charity to her husband and children if they qualify as recipients.
② Such giving earns her double reward — one for charity and one for maintaining family ties.
③ A husband, however, may not give zakat or charity to his wife or children, since providing for them is already his duty.
◈ Hadith 1
عَنْ زَيْنَبَ امْرَأَةِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَتْ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: تَصَدَّقْنَ يَا مَعْشَرَ النِّسَاءِ وَلَوْ مِنْ حُلِيِّكُنَّ...
Zaynab (the wife of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنهما) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “O women, give charity, even from your jewelry.”
Zaynab said:
I went to ʿAbdullāh (her husband) and said, “You are a man of limited means, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has commanded us to give charity. Go to him and ask whether it would be acceptable for me to give charity to you and to the orphans in my care. If it is permissible, I will do so; otherwise, I will give elsewhere.”
ʿAbdullāh said to me, “You go yourself.”
So I went, and found an Anṣārī woman at the door of the Prophet ﷺ for the same purpose.
Bilāl came out, so we said to him, “Go to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and tell him that two women are at the door asking whether their charity will suffice for their husbands and for the orphans under their care. Do not tell him who we are.”
Bilāl entered and asked. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Who are they?”
Bilāl replied, “A woman from the Anṣār and Zaynab.”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Which Zaynab?”
He replied, “The wife of ʿAbdullāh.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “They will have two rewards — the reward of kinship and the reward of charity.”
Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Zakah, Chapter: The Virtue of Spending and Giving Charity to Relatives – Hadith: 2318◈ Hadith 2 (Bukhari’s Version)
زَوْجُكِ وَوَلَدُكِ أَحَقُّ مَنْ تَصَدَّقْتِ عَلَيْهِمْ.
The Prophet ﷺ said to Zaynab (the wife of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه):
“Your husband and your children are more deserving of your charity than anyone else.”
Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Zakah, Chapter: Zakat on Relatives – Hadith: 1462Benefit and Ruling (فائدہ)
① These narrations clearly prove that a woman may give her charity and zakat to her husband and children if they are among those eligible to receive zakat.
② However, a husband cannot give zakat or charity to his wife and children, because their expenses are already his responsibility.
③ Scholars, such as al-Thawri, al-Shafiʿi, the companions of Abu Hanifah, one narration from Malik, and Ahmad, as well as al-Hadi, al-Nasir, and al-Mu’ayyad Billah, have all deduced from this hadith that it is permissible for a woman to give her zakat to her husband, provided that he is eligible.
Supporting Text:
“This is a valid proof if it is accepted that the charity mentioned here was obligatory (zakat), as indicated by her words: ‘Would it suffice for me…?’”
Nayl al-Awtar, vol. 4, p. 177Summary of Benefits
① A woman may give zakat and charity to her husband and children if they qualify as recipients.
② Such giving earns her double reward — one for charity and one for maintaining family ties.
③ A husband, however, may not give zakat or charity to his wife or children, since providing for them is already his duty.
