Delaying the payment of zakah by the agent with the intention of regulating its distribution among the poor

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some people appoint me as their agent to distribute the zakah of their wealth because I know some of the poor. I then exert myself to divide it among the poor in installments, fearing that they will squander it. Sometimes it remains with me for a while in order to regulate its distribution. I should mention that I do not wish to be appointed as their agent, but rather it is a form of cooperation with them in righteousness and piety. What is the ruling on doing this?

Answer:
Your action is good, and it is cooperation with them to deliver the zakah to those who are entitled to it, because you know the poor better. This is a good deed, and you will be rewarded for it. However, your statement that you delay it so that they do not squander it is not permissible. It is not permissible to withhold the zakah. Rather, you must pay it out and give it to them, and they will dispose of it as they see fit. They will dispose of it as they see fit, and you are not their guardian. You must give them their share of the zakah, and they will dispose of it. Do not hold it back with yourself, saying, "I will give it to them temporarily so they do not play with it" or the like. Because this is a matter of reform; if there is a benefit for the recipient, there is harm for the payer, because you have withheld his zakah. Yes.