Using lillah for personal use and doing a transfer into the lillah account and using lillah to pay for bank charges

Q: We have 3 bank accounts from the same bank. One is personal, one is lillah and the other is Zakaat. We use these via the banking app on the phone.

1. Many times, we receive cash lillah donations for which there is no immediate use. Depositing those funds into the account will cost high deposit fees. Can we use that for personal use and then do internal transfer from our personal account to the lillah account? Or is it compulsory to deposit and pay the deposit fees? Who should incur that fee? Donors give any amount like R500 or R2000 or R3000 in cash for general or sometimes specific needs. The deposit fee will then be deducted according to the amount. Who must bear that fee. The internal transfer is primarily meant to save those costs.

2. All 3 accounts incur monthly interest. Withdrawing those interest funds is a cost. Even transferring them via eft is a cost though much less. Can we remove those interest amounts from cash on hand? Again, this is to save lillah and Zakaat funds.

3. When transferring Zakaat to a recipient via eft, there is a bank charge that comes off the Zakaat account. How should this be done or who should bear this cost?

A:

1. It will be allowed with the donor's permission.

2. Yes.

3. The right thing is that the donors should be told that some percentage will be used for these charges and they must make sure that charges must be paid for.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)