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Fatwa CenterEating from what one has given ‘fee sabeelillaah’
Question
Is it permissible for someone to eat from what he/she has given out for fisabiliLLAH? Example people in a mosque give out fisabiliLLAH after friday prayers, can they use part of the money they have given out to buy something for themselves e.g buy fruits to breakfast during fasting?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The term ‘fee sabeelillaah’ (in the cause of Allaah) has many meanings, but in principle it refers to Jihaad (fighting in the cause of Allaah) and whatever else is synonymous. Nonetheless, many scholars 
are of the view that the expression ‘in the cause of Allaah’ covers all acts by which one seeks to get nearer to Allaah, and it includes all acts that can be referred to as ‘fee sabeelillaah’, like building mosques, schools, and so forth.
Therefore, you should have determined for us in which field the money is spent so that we could then know whether its owner may or may not eat from it.
In any case, if you mean here general charity, then in principle, the donator should not benefit anything from what he has donated as this is considered as taking back one’s donation whereas the Prophet 
, said to ‘Amr 
when he wanted to buy back a horse which he donated in charity: “Do not buy it and do not take back your charity even if one gives it to you with only one Dirham; this is because the one who takes back his donation is like the one who eats his vomit.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Ibn Hajar 
said in Fath Al-Baari, “This Hadeeth is evidence that it is disliked to take back what one has given in charity.” He also said, “The ruling that applies to charity also applies to expiation, vows, and other acts by which one gets nearer to Allaah.”
It is for this reason that a group of jurists stated that a donator is not permitted to eat from his donation.
Al-‘Inaayah sharh Al-Hidaayah, which is one of the Hanafi School of jurisprudence's books, reads, “A donator is not permitted to eat from his donation and if it happens for him to eat from it, he should pay the value of what he has eaten.”
Moreover, Fawaakih Ad-Dawaani, which is one of the Maaliki School of jurisprudence's books, reads, “Some scholars considered the statement of the author ‘and a man is not permitted to take back what he has given in charity’ that if one intended to give bread in charity to a beggar and then he finds that the beggar has left, then he is not permitted to eat it, and he is obliged to give it in charity to other people as stated by Maalik ."
However, other scholars said: “It is permissible for him to eat from it [his charity].” Ibn Rushd reconciled between the view of Imaam Maalik and the view of other scholars . He said: “The statement of other scholars means if he gives it for a particular person, then it is permissible for him to eat from it if the person whom he wants to give it to is not there [i.e. has left] or that he did not accept it, and the statement of Maalik means if he gives in charity but not to a particular person as, in this case, it is not permissible for him to eat from it; rather, he is obliged to give it in charity to other people as he did not assign to whom he would give it. Hence, this is a good reconciliation between the two opinions.”
However, if by your statement ‘fee sabeelillaah’ you mean an endowment, then the endower is permitted to eat from his endowment if he conditioned that when he endowed it. Ibn Qudaamah said in Al-Mughni “Case: He said, Unless he conditions to eat from it, then in this case, he is permitted to take from it according to his condition.'”
The conclusion is that if the person who appoints an endowment conditions that he spends from it on himself, then the endowment and the condition are valid, as stated by Imaam Ahmad . Moreover, Al-Athram said, “Abu ‘Abdullaah (Imaam Ahmad) was asked, 'Is it permissible to condition in an endowment that I spend from it on myself and my family [wife and children]?' He replied, 'Yes.'”
Nonetheless, there is no doubt that it is better for a person not to eat from what is mentioned [i.e. the endowment or the charity that one gives] and he should seek its complete reward from Allaah.
Allaah Knows best.
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