Is it permissible to give zakat al-mal to a poor person and count it toward the debt he owes the one giving the zakat?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner says, may Allah reward you: Is it valid to give the zakat of one’s wealth to a person who owes me a debt, knowing that he is poor, and count that zakat toward the debt he has?
Answer:
No, it is not permissible to count the zakat toward the debt the poor person owes. You give the poor person the zakat, and he disposes of it as he wishes. As for saying, “I will deduct it from the debt he owes and make it zakat,” this is not permissible. It does not suffice as zakat. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: “And give the zakah.” Giving means paying, paying to the poor and the needy. As for canceling the debt from him, that is not giving zakat. Yes.
The questioner says, may Allah reward you: Is it valid to give the zakat of one’s wealth to a person who owes me a debt, knowing that he is poor, and count that zakat toward the debt he has?
Answer:
No, it is not permissible to count the zakat toward the debt the poor person owes. You give the poor person the zakat, and he disposes of it as he wishes. As for saying, “I will deduct it from the debt he owes and make it zakat,” this is not permissible. It does not suffice as zakat. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: “And give the zakah.” Giving means paying, paying to the poor and the needy. As for canceling the debt from him, that is not giving zakat. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل يجوز إعطاء زكاة المال للفقير واحتسابها من الدَّين الذي عليه للمزكي؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.