Is it permissible to give zakah to relatives?
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The questioner : Regarding zakah, is it permissible to give it to relatives?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is given to relatives, and giving it to relatives is better than giving it to distant relatives, except for those whose financial maintenance is obligatory upon you; it is not permissible to give them from the zakah to cover their maintenance, because if you gave them that, you would save yourself the maintenance that was obligatory for this person. For this reason, we say: it is permissible to pay off the debt of a relative, even if his maintenance is obligatory upon you; so you provide for him and pay off his debt from your zakah, because the debt of a relative is not obligatory for you to pay off, even if it is the father’s.
So if a son wants to pay off a debt on his father, and his father is unable to pay it off, and the son pays it off from his zakah, there is no blame on him. Yes.
The questioner : The sister, if she is married.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : The sister, if she is married and poor, is maintenance obligatory?
The Shaykh : The sister, if she is married.
The questioner : And she is poor.
The Shaykh : And her husband?
The questioner : Her husband is poor.
The Shaykh : And her husband is poor, so there is nothing wrong with giving her from his zakah.
The questioner : Is her maintenance not obligatory on him?
The Shaykh : The original ruling is that it is on the husband. The husband is not able now, so he provides for her.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is given to relatives, and giving it to relatives is better than giving it to distant relatives, except for those whose financial maintenance is obligatory upon you; it is not permissible to give them from the zakah to cover their maintenance, because if you gave them that, you would save yourself the maintenance that was obligatory for this person. For this reason, we say: it is permissible to pay off the debt of a relative, even if his maintenance is obligatory upon you; so you provide for him and pay off his debt from your zakah, because the debt of a relative is not obligatory for you to pay off, even if it is the father’s.
So if a son wants to pay off a debt on his father, and his father is unable to pay it off, and the son pays it off from his zakah, there is no blame on him. Yes.
The questioner : The sister, if she is married.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : The sister, if she is married and poor, is maintenance obligatory?
The Shaykh : The sister, if she is married.
The questioner : And she is poor.
The Shaykh : And her husband?
The questioner : Her husband is poor.
The Shaykh : And her husband is poor, so there is nothing wrong with giving her from his zakah.
The questioner : Is her maintenance not obligatory on him?
The Shaykh : The original ruling is that it is on the husband. The husband is not able now, so he provides for her.