Is it permissible to pay off the debt of a deceased poor person from Zakat funds?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Paying off the debt of the deceased is permissible, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to pay off the debts of the deceased who had no means of repayment. Scholars have differed regarding the permissibility of paying off the debt of the deceased from . Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah held it permissible, while the majority of scholars deemed it impermissible, arguing that the debtor is the deceased and cannot be paid, and that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not pay off the debts of the deceased from Zakat, and that paying it to the living is more appropriate.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/14452
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 14452
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy