Issue: Is the debtor given from the zakah, or is his debt paid off on his behalf?

The Shaykh : However, if we were asked whether we should give to this debtor so that he can pay off his debt, or whether we should go to the creditor and pay the debt ourselves, the answer is that there is a distinction in this matter. If we know that this debtor is eager to clear his liability and that if we give to him, he will go and pay his creditor, then the best course here is to give to him so that he can pay off his debt himself, so that we may cover for him and not expose him to people by having his debt paid from the zakah. But if the debtor is reckless and does not know how to handle money, and if we were to give him this money to pay his debt, he would go and buy things he has no need for, then in this case we do not give to him; rather, we go to his creditor and pay on his behalf. We would say, for example, "So-and-so owes you such-and-such; this is the claim." And it is not a problem if the debtor does not know why, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) made the right of the debtors contingent upon a condition or established as a right, and this is evidence that it is not required to give them ownership of the funds, but rather it is permissible to pay off their debts without their knowledge, and there is no harm in that. If someone were to ask: Does this include the living and the dead? In other words,