Giving Zakat to Mosques and Madrasas

Short answer: Based on the provided evidence, zakat money cannot be used to build a mosque or fund a madrasa and its students, because these are not among the specific categories of zakat recipients defined in the Qur'an and Sunnah. The evidence passages you supplied do not include mosques or madrasas as allowable recipients; rather, they discuss the obligation of zakat on wealth (Sahih al-Bukhari 1404, 1403, 1451, 1454, 1498, 1499, 1405, 1468), the warning against withholding it (Sahih al-Bukhari 1403, 1468), and certain specific uses such as for the poor, the indebted, and those fighting in Allah's cause (Sahih al-Bukhari 1468 mentions giving zakat to al-mujahidin). The passage P3 (Sahih al-Bukhari 1468) indirectly suggests that zakat can be given to those engaged in jihad (fi sabilillah), but a mosque building or a madrasa institution is not a person and does not fall under the eight divinely-appointed categories (Surah At-Tawbah 9:60, not in your passages). Students of a madrasa who are poor may receive zakat as individuals under the category of the poor or needy, but not as funding for the institution itself. The majority of scholars from the Ahle Hadith view hold that zakat must be distributed strictly to the eight categories, and building mosques or funding educational institutions is not among them. Therefore, using zakat for such purposes is not permissible based on the supplied evidence. Evidence: 1. Sahih al-Bukhari 1468 (P3) mentions that the Prophet (ﷺ) ordered zakat collection and that Ibn 'Abbas and Hasan permitted giving zakat to those fighting in Allah's cause (mujahidin) and for Hajj, but not for building mosques or madrasas. 2. Sahih al-Bukhari 1403 (P2) and 1404 (P1) emphasize the obligation of paying zakat on wealth and the severe warning for those who hoard it without paying, reinforcing that zakat is a specific right of the poor and not a general donation for construction. 3. Sahih al-Bukhari 1454 (P9) and 1451 (P4) detail the regulations of zakat on wealth and livestock, showing it is a prescribed duty with fixed categories of recipients, not a discretionary fund. 4. The absence of any sahih hadith in your provided passages allowing zakat for mosque or madrasa construction indicates that such use is not supported by the primary sources. We advise you to consult a qualified scholar for detailed guidance on complex cases, especially regarding the interpretation of “fi sabilillah” in contemporary contexts.