Is it permissible for a mother to give her son from her Zakat wealth to pay off a debt he owes?
A well-off father must provide for his child who is unable to earn a living. If the father is poor or deceased, then the responsibility of providing for the child falls upon the well-off mother. It is not permissible for her to give her son from Zakat to fulfill this obligatory expenditure. However, if the son is in debt, it is permissible for the mother to give him from her Zakat to repay his debt, whether it is owed to others or to her, on condition that she gives him the Zakat without stipulating its return in exchange for the debt. If she absolves him of the debt in exchange for Zakat or stipulates its return, then that does not count as Zakat.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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