and vineyards consisting of grapes and dates, and the collector needs to sell them before harvest, the Qadi has mentioned that it is permissible to sell them to the owner of the property in this instance. The same applies to the first case, and in every place where necessity demands purchasing it; for the prohibition of purchasing in the area of consensus was only to prevent harm to the poor person, and the harm to him in preventing the sale here is greater, so preventing that harm by permitting the sale is more appropriate.

Section: Muhanna said: I asked Abu ‘Abd Allah about a man who has a debt against another man secured by a pledge, and the debtor does not have the means to pay it, and this [creditor] man has zakat on his wealth that he wants to distribute to the poor. He gives the debtor his pledge and says to him: "The debt you owe me is yours [forgiven]," and he counts it toward his zakat. He said: "That is not sufficient for him." I said to him: "So he gives him his zakat, and if he returns it to him as payment for what he owes him, is it permissible for him to take it?" He said: "Yes." And he said in another place, when it was said to him: "What if he gives it to him, then he returns it to him?" He said: "If it is by way of a trick, it does not please me." It was said to him: "What if the one who owes the debt borrows dirhams, pays him [the creditor] with them, then he returns them to him, and he counts it toward his zakat?" He said: "If he intends by it to revive his own wealth, it is not permissible." It results from his words that paying zakat to the debtor is permissible, whether he pays it initially or he collects his due and then pays what he collected to him, unless he intends by the payment to revive his wealth or collect his debt; [in that case] it is not permissible, because zakat is a right of Allah Almighty, so it is not permissible to divert it toward one's own benefit. It is not permissible to credit the debt he is owed against the zakat before he has collected it, because he is commanded to perform its delivery and payment, while this is an annulment. And Allah knows best.

426 - Issue: He said: "And not to a disbeliever, nor to a slave."

We do not know of any disagreement among the scholars that the zakat of wealth is not given to a disbeliever or a slave.