Q. My father married his second wife in middle age, and now he is elderly. Could I help his family with my zakah, considering that they are very poor?
Alam
A. If your father is still alive and he is poor, you cannot pay him your zakah, because helping him and looking after him in a proper way is your duty and responsibility. Therefore, if you pay him your zakah, it is as if you are paying it to yourself, as it reduces your responsibility. Needless to say, your father is entitled to a decent living as you and your brothers and sisters can afford. This means covering all his expenses and helping him to discharge his duties. It is certainly unkind to parents to leave them dependent on help from zakah. Therefore, you and your brothers need to arrange that your father has a decent living for the rest of his life.
Should your father die, and his wife survive him, you can help her with your zakah, because her living expenses, as a widow of your father, are not your responsibility. Her own family should look after her. If she has no one to support her, then, in a Muslim society, she should be supported by the state. However, in our communities today, the state does not give proper help, of the kind Islam envisages, to anyone. Therefore, a woman in such a situation is helped by kindly individuals and local charities. In the case we have here, it will be a highly rewarding act on your part if you support your widowed stepmother. You can help her with your zakah as well as your voluntary donation.
Having said that, I need to stress two points. The first is that zakah cannot be paid to anyone whom we are required to support, such as our own wives, children or parents. The second is that when you undertake to support your father, your zakah liability will automatically be reduced, since your expenses will be increased.