Is it permissible to pay Zakat in monthly installments to settle a debt owed to an association that the sick father was a member of, knowing that the father is unable to earn money and his need is pressing, and is this considered a delay in paying Zakat?

It is permissible to pay zakat to the gharim, who is the debtor unable to repay his debt. It is also permissible to give him zakat to pay off deferred installments. This is the view of the Hanbalis and one opinion among the Shafi'is, with the caveat that the debtor is not permitted to spend the zakat given to him for debt repayment on anything else. Zakat can be expedited to pay debt installments if there is a need for it. However, it is not permissible to delay zakat beyond its due time in order to pay debt installments on their respective dates.