Medical aid from zakat

Question

The matter to be ascertained is whether zakat may be directed into this medical aid fund or not. Its announcement is as follows: “Medical Aid Fund. The population of our town of Bhatkal is growing day by day, and illnesses too are increasing; the number of doctors has also risen greatly, and there is no provision on the part of the municipality.

Answer

If medicines are prepared whose value equals the amount due (of zakat) and are given to the poor who deserve [zakat] by way of tamlik (transfer of ownership), zakat will be discharged; the same ruling applies to sadaqat al-fitr and to the price of the hides of sacrificial animals.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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