The ruling on paying off the debt of a poor, smoking brother from zakah

The questioner : A questioner says, and most of the gathering has passed. I have zakah, and I have a poor brother who has a debt, but he smokes. Is it permissible for me to give him my zakah, or regarding the debt, direct me to what is in my benefit.

The Shaykh : Yes, it is permissible for you to pay off his debt even if he smokes, because the debt has no connection to the smoking. Yes, if we suppose that he incurred the debt to buy cigarettes, then we might say that there is hesitation regarding the permissibility of giving to him, because for example, if he owed one hundred riyals for cigarettes and you paid it off, he would buy them again the next day, buy them a second time, and it would be as if you are spending on him so that he can smoke. This is a matter of hesitation. However, if the debt was incurred for something other than cigarettes, such as a person who bought provisions for his children while he smokes, and you paid off his debt, then there is no harm in that. Yes.