Is it permissible to pay Zakat to cover the treatment costs of a brother with a mental illness and to buy him a car to help him with transportation and to meet the family's needs, knowing that he is unemployed and unable to commit to a job?

It is permissible to give zakat to a poor brother who does not possess enough to cover his basic needs and is unable to earn a living. Giving zakat to him is more meritorious than giving it to others, as it is both charity (sadaqah) and the strengthening of kinship ties (silat ar-rahim). However, purchasing a car for him with zakat is a matter of disagreement among contemporary scholars, and it is more prudent to avoid it.