Alms Tax: Purchasing Religious Books as a Charitable Endowment from Zakat

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Ayatullah Sistani

Ruling 1994

A person cannot purchase the Qur’an, religious books, or books of supplications (duʿāʾs) from the ‘in the way of Allah’ portion of zakat and give them as a charitable endowment (waqf) unless the general public benefit necessitates it, and, based on obligatory precaution, he gets authorisation from a fully qualified jurist.

-Ayatullah Sistani, Practical Laws of Islam, Alms Tax (Zakat)