Is it permissible for a charitable development organization, which is dedicated to assisting the poor and community development, to use zakat funds to finance development projects, or to pay the rent for its headquarters, or to purchase necessities for the poor instead of giving them cash?

1. It is permissible to pay Zakat in the form of in-kind goods if the Zakat payer acts as an agent for the poor in purchasing their needs, after seeking permission from the Zakat recipients. This is permissible if the goods are more beneficial to the poor than cash.

2. It is not permissible to fund developmental projects or projects that serve the poor from Zakat funds, because the recipients of Zakat are specifically defined as the eight categories mentioned in the Holy Quran. A condition for the validity of Zakat payment is that it must be transferred to the ownership of the poor.

3. It is not permissible to pay the association's rent from Zakat money; rather, it must be paid from voluntary sadaqat and other donations.