Paying Zakah to Settle the Debt of an Indebted Doctor
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Fatwa No. ( 20479 )
Q: The Sharia Medical Committee issued a decision fining a doctor the sum of (450,500) four hundred fifty thousand and five hundred riyals as compensation for a patient he was overseeing the treatment of along with others, and the patient suffered complications. The doctor in question owns only housing for his family and a car for his transportation, and their combined value does not exceed eighty thousand (80,000 riyals). In compliance with the command of our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, and following the Sunnah of our noble Prophet, we are cooperating and uniting to lift this affliction from this colleague. The question is: Can what an individual among us volunteers for this colleague to complete the required amount be considered part of the zakah? And is it permissible to pay the zakah of two years or more in advance ?
A: If the situation is as described, it is permissible for you to pay the zakah to the aforementioned doctor to help him settle his debt; because he is among the eight categories of zakah recipients that Allah mentioned in Surat al-Tawbah:[At-Tawbah 9:60] the verse,
and it is permissible for you to pay the zakah of more than one year in advance to meet the need of the aforementioned person. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: The Sharia Medical Committee issued a decision fining a doctor the sum of (450,500) four hundred fifty thousand and five hundred riyals as compensation for a patient he was overseeing the treatment of along with others, and the patient suffered complications. The doctor in question owns only housing for his family and a car for his transportation, and their combined value does not exceed eighty thousand (80,000 riyals). In compliance with the command of our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, and following the Sunnah of our noble Prophet, we are cooperating and uniting to lift this affliction from this colleague. The question is: Can what an individual among us volunteers for this colleague to complete the required amount be considered part of the zakah? And is it permissible to pay the zakah of two years or more in advance ?
A: If the situation is as described, it is permissible for you to pay the zakah to the aforementioned doctor to help him settle his debt; because he is among the eight categories of zakah recipients that Allah mentioned in Surat al-Tawbah:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَand it is permissible for you to pay the zakah of more than one year in advance to meet the need of the aforementioned person. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.