Jamiatul Ulama KZN

Is it permissible to discharge zakaah by paying off a person’s debt?

Published as Zakaah recipient

· 17 Muharram 1436 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

Is it permissible to discharge zakaah by paying off a person’s debt? So in other words, the actual recipient will not become the owner of the zakaah, neither will they know that their debt is being settled.

I am concerned that if the monies are given directly to the person eligible for zakaah, they will use it for other extravagances. The person has been in debt for years now.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salamu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh.

If a legitimate recipient of Zakaat is in debt and there is a fear of him not discharging his debt after receiving the Zakaat, the person discharging his Zakaat should seek permission from the recipient of Zakaat to make him his representative to discharge the debt of his behalf. [1] <file:///C:\Users\ibnbassa\Desktop\Jamiat%20Approved%20Answers\Fatwa%20244%20-%20Zakaat%20to%20obsolve%20debt.docx#_ftn1>

In this way, the person discharging his Zakaat will discharge his Zakaat and pay the debt.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Answered by
Ismaeel Bassa
Checked by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
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Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

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Source: Jamiatul Ulama KZN — https://jamiat.org.za/zakaah-recipient/
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/jamiat-13981

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