May minors' zakah be given to their needy, indebted grandmother?
2026-10-13
T155 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete source question and answer
Complete original question and answer, 25/91. Paying debt is distinguished from meeting maintenance needs; sufficiency from other support is retained as a material condition.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
وسئل عن امرأة فقيرة، وعليها دين، ولها أولاد بنت صغار، ولهم مال، وهم تحت الحجر: هل يجوز أن يدفعوا زكاتهم إلى جدتهم أم لا؟ وهل هي أولى من غيرها أم لا؟
الجواب
أما دفع زكاتهم إليها لقضاء دينها، فيجوز في أظهر قولي العلماء، وهو أحد القولين في مذهب أحمد وغيره، وكذلك دفعها إلى سائر الأقارب لأجل الدين.
وأما دفعها لأجل النفقة، فإن كانت مستغنية بنفقتهم، أو نفقة غيرهم؛ لم تدفع إليها، وإن كانت محتاجة إلى زكاتهم؛ دفعت إليها في أظهر قولي العلماء، وهي أحق من الأجانب. والله أعلم.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
He was asked about a poor woman who owes a debt. Her daughter's children are young, possess wealth, and are under guardianship. May their zakah be given to their grandmother, and does she have priority over others?
Answer
Giving their zakah to her to pay her debt is permissible according to the stronger of the two scholarly views, which is one of the views in the school of Aḥmad and others. The same applies to giving it to other relatives because of debt.
As for giving it to provide maintenance: if their maintenance or someone else's provides sufficiently for her, it is not given to her. But if she needs their zakah, it is given to her according to the stronger of the two scholarly views, and she has a greater claim than unrelated people. Allah knows best.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 25/91
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic question and complete answer collated with the cited source text and its adjacent question boundaries. Arabic diacritics omitted, display marks removed and honorific glyphs expanded. Browsing headings and scope notes are editorial.