Is it permissible to waive a debt and consider it as zakah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: I am owed money by one of the brothers, and I have three hundred riyals of zakah due. Is it permissible for me to say to him, "Take it," or to give it to someone in need?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
He says: I am owed money by one of the brothers, and I have three hundred riyals of zakah due. Is it permissible for me to say to him, "Take it," or to give it to someone in need?
The Shaykh:
No, you must collect the money from the debtor. Once you have collected it, then you may pay it as zakah or give it as voluntary charity to whomever you wish. Yes.
He says: I am owed money by one of the brothers, and I have three hundred riyals of zakah due. Is it permissible for me to say to him, "Take it," or to give it to someone in need?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
He says: I am owed money by one of the brothers, and I have three hundred riyals of zakah due. Is it permissible for me to say to him, "Take it," or to give it to someone in need?
The Shaykh:
No, you must collect the money from the debtor. Once you have collected it, then you may pay it as zakah or give it as voluntary charity to whomever you wish. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل يجوز الإعفاء عن المدين واعتبار الدَّين من الزكاة؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.