Is it permissible to pay Zakat to a poor woman who needs money for her son's medical treatment and to cover her housing costs, by paying an upfront sum of 20,000 EGP for the rent of an apartment under the old, reduced-rate law?

It is permissible to pay zakat to a woman for the treatment of her son if she cannot afford the treatment costs. As for paying zakat for house rent, it is permissible according to the Shafi'i school, which holds that a poor person is given what is generally sufficient for their lifetime. According to those who believe that a poor person is given what suffices them for a year, she is given from zakat what is sufficient for a year's rent or what she is unable to afford, and she is given it again for the coming year if she remains eligible.