Providing a shroud for the deceased from zakat

Question

A certain Rahmatullah passed away who was completely destitute. A certain Ahmad Hasan provided the shroud and intended that he was giving zakat. Has this zakat been discharged or not? What needs to be asked is this: the time of zakat had not yet come, that is, zakat would become wajib in Ramadan, and Hasan intended that it would be counted towards the coming zakat.

Answer

Zakat has not been discharged by this — neither past nor future. For discharging zakat it is necessary to make the recipient (masraf) an owner, and the deceased does not have the capacity to become an owner.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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