assalam alikum. our local mosque is setting up a janza fund, to pay for any muslim who dies. is this right? my understanding it is the responsibilty of the family to provide the funds. also in uk if a person cannot afford a funeral the government provides funds. my view is money should go to the living who are suffering. thank you for your helpd

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 is His slave and Messenger.

The expenses of preparing the dead, like the fees for the person who digs the grave, the fees of washing the dead, and the price of the coffin and the like, should all be paid from the money of the dead, in principle, and if he has no money, then it is those who were obligated to spend on him who should provide the above. If there is none, then it is Bayt-ul-Maal (the public treasury of the Muslims) that should spend on this, and if there is no Bayt-ul-Maal, then it is the Muslims who are present around him (at the time of death) or who heard of him who should provide this.

Al-Buhooti from the Hanbali School of jurisprudence, said: “The expenses of the dead should be spent from his money [inheritance] according to reasonable grounds, and if the dead has no money, like if he did not leave any money, or that his money was lost before preparing him for his funeral, then it is those who were obligated to spend on him who should spend on his funeral, because they were obligated to spend on him during his life, and the same applies after his death.”

Moreover, Al-Buhooti said: “If the dead does not have a relative who is obligated to spend on him, then it is Bayt-ul-Maal that must provide his coffin and provide for the expenses of preparing him for his funeral if he (the dead) is a Muslim, and if there is no Bayt-ul-Maal or that it was not possible to take money from it, then it is any Muslim who knows about him who must provide for his coffin and for the expenses of preparing him for his funeral.”

On the other hand, it is permissible to set up a fund for the funerals in order to pay for the expenses of preparing the dead for burial especially in non-Muslim countries, and this is a form of cooperation in righteousness and piety. However, if the dead had left inheritance or that he has a relative who is obligated to spend on him, then it is a condition for the validity of paying those expenses from that fund that all the heirs agree to this, and if all the heirs do not agree with this, then this is not permissible as this could be considered as a favour to them and to the dead.

Al-Buhooti also said: “If some heirs volunteer to provide for the expenses of preparing the dead (while the deceased has left money to cover it), then the remaining heirs are not obligated to accept it as this could be considered as a favour to them and to the dead. The same thing applies if a non-relative volunteers to donate it and all the heirs or some of them refuse that…”

Likewise, Al-Bujayrimi from the Shaafi’i School of jurisprudence, said: “If some heirs volunteer to pay for his (the deceased's) funeral expenses, the rest of the heirs are not obliged to accept this because this could be considered as a favor to them and to the dead. The same thing applies if a non-relative volunteers to do this and then all heirs or some of them refuse.”

Finally, there is no doubt that what the questioner mentioned is correct that it is more appropriate to spend that money on the living who are poor as long as there is no need for this money to be used in preparing the dead for his funeral. Nevertheless, it is not permissible to spend the money that was collected (for this purpose) on something other than what it was donated for. Therefore, the solution is to convince the donors in the future that it is better for them to spend the money in charitable fields that are needed instead of spending it in what is not necessary.

Allaah Knows best.