Writing off a debt and counting it as zakat

A question about writing off a debt and counting it as zakat, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that it does not count as zakat and is a charitable gift, and that it is better for the creditor to collect the debt and then give the debtor from his zakat if he is eligible. ¹

The questioner asked about writing off a debtor's debt with the intention of counting it as zakat. ¹

The Department answered that writing off a debt with the intention of counting it as zakat does not discharge zakat, but is a rewarded act of charity, because zakat requires the giver to intend it at the time of handing over the money, and the debt is already established on the borrower, so the intention cannot be transferred to zakat. ¹ It said it is better for the creditor to collect the debt from the debtor and then give him back all or part of the zakat he owes, if the debtor belongs to the eight categories entitled to zakat. ¹ It quoted Umdat al-Salik that if the giver hands money to a poor person on condition that he return it in payment of a debt, or says, 'I have made what you owe me zakat,' it does not count, whereas if he gives it intending that the debtor repay him from it, without making that a condition, it counts, and the debtor is not bound to repay. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4281, dated 22 February 2026. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.