What is the ruling on paying off the debt of a deceased person from zakah?

Question : If it is asked: Can it be paid from zakah?

Answer : The answer is no, it is not paid from zakah. Because zakah is for the living only. As for the dead, if they took people's money intending to repay it, Allah will repay it on their behalf. But if they took it intending to destroy it, they are not worthy of mercy, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is not permissible to pay a debt owed by a deceased person from zakah, because zakah is only for the living. Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to be presented with funeral processions of people who had debts, and he did not pay them from zakah. But when Allah granted him victory and the spoils of war became abundant, he (peace and blessings be upon him) began to pay them. Also, if the door were opened—meaning, I mean, paying off the debts of the dead—then the poor among the living would not get anything, because people would dig up old ledgers, looking for debts of their grandfather, his grandfather, and so on.
If the poor were to have their debts paid from zakah, the rich would be left with nothing from the zakah. Yes.
He says: Yes, the poor among the living have no right to zakah. Also, if we pay the debt of the deceased, the only benefit is that his conscience is cleared.
But if we pay the debt of a living person, there are two benefits: first, his debt is paid off, and second, his honor is preserved and he is safe from humiliation before his creditors. So it is not appropriate to turn away from this to that. Yes, if it were assumed that there are no living creditors, the opinion might lean toward paying it for the debts of the dead, despite the heaviness of that in my view, because the categories of zakah are still present. Yes.