Is it permissible for the zakat recipient to use zakat funds to rent an apartment for personal residence, knowing that he does not own a home and cannot afford to buy one, and that the time for the zakat payment coincides with the expiration of his rental agreement?

If an apartment is rented from capital before a year has passed, there is no zakat (definition) on it if it falls below the minimum threshold (nisab (definition)) or if a year passes while it is still below the threshold. However, if a year has passed and the capital reaches the minimum threshold, it is not permissible to pay zakat or a portion of it for apartment rent. This is because zakat is a right of others, and its recipients are specified in Allah's (SWT) saying: "Indeed, [prescribed] charitable donations are only to be given to the poor and the needy, and to those who work on [administering] it, and to those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to [free] captives, and to those in debt, and for the cause of Allah, and to the stranded traveler; a duty ordained by Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise."