Discharging zakat by feeding the poor

Question

With zakat money one may buy grain and give it to the destitute (masakin). May one also cook that grain and feed them, or not?

Answer

They may be fed: to the extent that you feed them after making them owners, to that extent the zakat will be discharged. But if, without transferring ownership, they are fed by way of (meeting their) need, in the way people are fed at a general banquet, the zakat will not be discharged thereby: [ar]الزكاة هي تمليك مال مخصوص…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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