"The Collection of Various Fatwas and Articles"

The book "The Collection of Various Fatwas and Articles" by the late Imam Sheikh 'Abdul 'Aziz bin 'Abdullah bin Baz collected and organized by Dr. Muhammad bin Sa'd al-Shuway'ir under the supervision of the official Ibn Baz website is a major jurisprudential and dawah encyclopedia. It preserves the extensive scholarly and fatwa legacy of the former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia. The Sheikh’s methodology is distinguished by its direct reliance on textual evidence from the Quran, the Sunnah and the path of the Righteous Predecessors (Al-Salaf al-Salih), while emphasizing facilitation, moderation and addressing contemporary issues.

Volume 14 of this comprehensive encyclopedia focuses entirely on the "Book of Zakah". It opens by highlighting the significance of Zakah as the third of the five pillars of Islam, followed by a detailed explanation of the rulings on various types of wealth, including gold, silver, modern paper currency, livestock, trade goods, crops and fruits. It also covers fatwas regarding jewelry intended for personal use and accumulated debts.

Furthermore, this volume elaborates on the eight categories of eligible Zakah recipients. It addresses practical questions such as the permissibility of giving Zakah to non-dependent relatives (like siblings or paternal uncles), the prohibition of giving it to direct ascendants (parents/grandparents) or descendants (children/grandchildren) and contemporary issues like sending Zakah funds to relieve Muslims affected by wars and famines in countries like Bosnia and Somalia. It emphasizes that Zakah must be restricted to its legally specified recipients and should not be used for projects like building mosques or printing Qurans, which ought to be funded through voluntary charity (Sadaqah).

Finally, the volume discusses Zakat al-Fitr, detailing its required amount and timing, while upholding the scholarly view of distributing it in the form of food in adherence to the Sunnah. It concludes with a dedicated section on the virtues of voluntary charity and its social solidarity role in caring for orphans and the needy, making this volume an invaluable, practical guide that bridges traditional scholarship with modern-day application for both researchers and general readers.