[Q 743] Zakat for Wedding Expenses

Question

Zaid needs help with daughter’s marriage expenses

Zaid is daily wager and seems Zakat eligible for

Bakar wants to help but instead of paying directly to Zaid, he wants to pay the wedding hall rent and caterer instead.

if Zaid allows this, would Bakar’s Zakat be valid or he must give possession to Zaid and then Zaid can pay off the dues?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

For the correct payment of zakat, it is necessary to make a legally poor person (shar’i faqir) or their agent the owner of the zakat amount. If ownership is not transferred, then the zakat will not be considered paid. If the shar’i faqir himself tells the zakat payer to make a payment to a certain person on his behalf, then the zakat payer will also become an agent (wakil) for the shar’i faqir in taking possession of the zakat amount, and by making the payment on his behalf, zakat will be paid to that extent.

Therefore, in the aforementioned scenario, if you paid the wedding hall and food expenses with Zayd’s permission, then the zakat will be considered paid. However, if you paid them yourself without Zayd’s permission, then the zakat will not be considered paid.

It is stated in Bada’i al-Sana’i:

ولو قضى دين حي فقير إن قضى بغير أمره لم يجز؛ لأنه لم يوجد التمليك من الفقير لعدم قبضه وإن كان بأمره يجوز عن الزكاة لوجود التمليك من الفقير؛ لأنه لما أمره به صار وكيلا عنه في ‌القبض ‌فصار كأن الفقير قبض الصدقة بنفسه وملكه من الغريم۔

(Bada’i al-Sana’i, vol. 2, p. 39)

Answered by: Mubashir Madani (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 22nd October 2026