Is zakat obligatory on money saved in the bank to buy a plot of land and build a house for marriage, and is it permissible to give zakat to pay accumulated electricity bills and give the remainder to a cousin who lives with him in the same house?
Zakat is obligatory on wealth if it reaches the nisab and a full year has passed on it. The most absolving for your conscience and easiest for you is to pay zakat on all wealth when the original capital's year has passed. Debts are deducted from the wealth on which zakat is obligatory according to the majority of scholars, but it is not permissible to use zakat to pay off a debt you owe. If the debt is owed by someone else and they are unable to pay, then it is permissible to give them zakat. It is permissible to give zakat to a relative living with you if they are poor and meet the conditions of poverty mentioned in Fatwa no. 103013; otherwise, it is not permissible.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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