Abstract
Organizations that aim to serve the society without any financial benefit, and act on a voluntary basis are called charity. Individual efforts were in solving social and familial problems that grew and diversified in the historical process, and as a result, charitable organizations were established. These organizations not only performed important duties in dressing the wounds of societies faced great disasters and calamities, but they also contributed to the development and spread of solidarity and welfare culture. Especially the teachings of the Qur’an, the practices of the Prophet and the Companions caused the rapid spread of the charity in Islamic lands.
The charitable organizations that had been institutionalized over time performed important tasks in many fields ranging from the architectural and aesthetic appearance of Islamic cities to today's municipal services, from all levels of education and training to achieving economic, commercial, political and military goals. Leaders and families of Islamic countries also donated considerable amount of their personal possessions to the services of charity organizations, supported them and facilitated their operations by preparing certain legal regulations. Especially during the time of the Ottomans, these institutions produced unique monuments in Istanbul, Anatolia and Balkan cities, through trust institutions.
The greatest sources of income for active and dynamic charity organizations were undoubtedly zakah, almsgiving, donations and gifts in kind and in cash. The legitimacy and continuity of charities depends on the use of the aforementioned revenues in line with their intended purpose. So that it becomes possible to act upon the Shari’ah rules regarding the giving away the possessions entrusted to them. In this context, the charity income and where the income are expended are of importance. In particular, whether zakah, the area of use of which is directly determined by the Naṣṣ, could be given away to organizations and institutions with a judicial personality. Fuqahā examined the issue within the scope of “fī sabīli llāh” which is one of the eight classes to be given more zakah, and in the context of “assignment condition”. Most of the fiqh scholars find it unfavorable to give zakah directly to such organizations. Some of the contemporary scholars confined the scope of zakat to the extent of jihad, and some of them approached the issue on the basis of "closeness to Allah" and "utilitas". Those who adopt this last approach expanded the scope of zakah and stated that zakah can be given to charity organizations to support them, and beyond that, a fund can be allocated from the zakah income and loaned to Muslims in the form of karz ḥasan and in a utilitas-based way who want to expand their business. When the evidence on which the stated opinions were based was examined, it was observed that the last opinion is weak. However, considering the practices of the Prophet and the Companions and pondering upon the broad meaning of jihad, it has been concluded that charity institutions can be supported with zakah income under certain conditions. The issue has been tried to be analyzed within the framework of the conceptual borderings of "attorney" and "client" regarding the use of income such as charity, grants and donations, which have a wider area of use than zakah does. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the will and declaration of a grantee or a donor is decisive, however, the differences between in-kind and in-cash aids have also been pointed out. In order for the charity officials to be able to act against the will of a donor, it is stipulated that the officials should know more than the donor in which areas the needs and interests of the society are concentrated, and this change of disposition is also subject to the knowledge and permission of the donor.
The aim of our study is to examine, within the framework of Islamic law, the views of the fuqahā and the evidence on which these opinions are based on issues such as where the income of the charity organizations, especially zakat and charity could be spent, and who has the priority to receive the charity, whether the aid in kind and in cash could be used outside its purpose, what the responsibilities of the institution officials are, and as of which types of contract the aids are seen, and what the binding force of these contracts is; and, in the end it contributes to the studies made or will make about the issue.