The Ruling on Taking from Zakah What a Guarantor Paid on Behalf of the One Guaranteed

Question:
The questioner says: I guaranteed a friend of mine for a debt, and I was forced to pay it on his behalf. He is now in financial distress. Is it permissible for me to take from the zakah an amount corresponding to what I paid on his behalf, from my own zakah or from someone else's?

Answer:
From your own zakah, no; your zakah is not to be used for this. However, if the person who is entitled to the zakah appoints an agent to collect it, and he pays you back from the zakah that he receives in his hand or in the hand of the agent, provided there is no violation, because once the zakah arrives, he owns it, and he can pay his debt and eat from it. So if he pays you back from what he receives of the zakah, that is fine. But as for you deducting from your own zakah an amount corresponding to the debt he owes, no, that is a protection for the owner of the wealth. You must give him time. Yes, if he is poor, yes, and if he has a home, and if he has maintenance, and if he has a house, yes.