Counting a guarantor's payment for an insolvent debtor as zakat

A question from the guarantor of an insolvent debtor facing court enforcement, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that what the guarantor pays under his guarantee cannot be counted as zakat, though he may give the debtor some of his zakat as someone in debt or in poverty. ¹

The questioner said he is guarantor for an insolvent person wanted for court enforcement and is legally bound to pay on his behalf; he asked whether what he has paid and will pay for him may be counted as zakat. ¹

The Department answered that whoever guarantees a debt must pay it if the debtor cannot or does not, and the creditor may claim from either the debtor or the guarantor, quoting this from al-Bajuri's gloss. ¹ It said zakat has recipients set by God in the Qur'an and conditions for its validity, including transferring ownership to the recipient, intention at the time of paying, as it quoted from al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin, and not paying it to oneself or, as poverty relief, to one's dependants, as it quoted from al-Khatib al-Shirbini's al-Iqna'. ¹ It said paying zakat to settle a debt the payer owes through his own guarantee is close to paying it to oneself, so what the questioner paid under the guarantee cannot count as zakat, since the conditions of intention and of transferring ownership are not met. ¹ It added that the guarantor may give the debtor some of his zakat as someone in debt, poor or needy, and the debtor, once he owns it, may settle his debt with it if he chooses. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3877, dated 19 May 2024. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.