Is it permissible for a man to pay his zakah to his creditor?

Question : It is permissible for a man to pay his zakah to his creditor, and the original source of the debt is from him, as we mentioned regarding the mukatab (a slave who has a contract to buy his freedom).

Answer : Yes, but on the condition that they do not conspire to do so. For example, it is permissible for a man to pay his zakah to his creditor, especially if he has other creditors. If the creditor returns it to him, there is no harm. An example of this is: I am owed ten thousand riyals by a man, and I have ten thousand riyals in zakah.
So I gave it to him. The man is eager to clear his debt; he did not go buy a car with it, nor did he go buy unnecessary things. He gave it back to me. Is this permissible or not? It is permissible. I did not say to him, "Take my zakah and return it to me," especially if he has other creditors. For example, I am owed ten thousand riyals, so-and-so is owed ten thousand, and a third person is owed ten thousand. The permissibility of this is clear, and there is no doubt in it. But what involves hesitation and doubt is if I know that the man is eager to clear his debt and that no one is asking him for it except me, and then I give him the amount of my debt against him. In this case, one may hesitate because I know that this man will... will return it to me. If someone says, "If you fear that, then absolve him of the debt and exclude it from the zakah."
We said this is not permissible. This is what made us hesitate about giving the debt to the one who is owed by the zakah payer, because it would be as if it is a trick to absolve the debt.