Can Zakat Money Be Used for Parents and In-Laws to Cover Medical Costs?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

Can zakat money be used for parents and in-laws to cover medical costs?

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

No, zakat cannot be given to your parents, but it can be given to your in-laws. Moreover, you cannot simply cover medical costs with zakat funds because there needs to be a transfer of ownership of the wealth.

[‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

Please see the following related resources: Zakat: How to Calculate & Whom to Give and: Is Your Zakat Due? – A Reader and Resources on Giving Zakat

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.