Paying Zakah to the fund for spending money for the treatment of poor patients

Q: The Tibah Medical Resort Charitable Foundation was established in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, under a license from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, numbered (5947), dated 28 Safar, 1420 A.H. The Foundation has a board of trustees headed by His Royal Highness the Prince of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah and its members include a number of the notables and dignitaries of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah. The income of the Foundation depends on many sources such as grants, donations, subsidies and the charitable support of the benevolent people. Moreover, the Foundation has a fund for spending money for the treatment of the poor patientsOne of the early projects of this Foundation was the establishment of the Tibah Medical Resort, which aims to take care of the chronic and convalescent psychiatric patients, patients suffering from psychotic, mental or emotional disorders, and patients suffering from chronic neurological disorders such as paralysis, intractable epilepsy and head injuries. It also cares for the old aged patients. It is a private project that charges the patient a fee equal to the costs of the provided services plus 10% that is used to improve and develop the project. These fees are not intended to provide monetary profit, but to improve (Part No. 8; Page No. 393) the service for the patients. If the patients are unable to pay for their treatment, their fees are covered by the patients' fund which is affiliated to the Foundation.Th Resort provides its services for the inhabitants of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah and all of the areas of the Kingdom. It is located on a spacious area of land that is 62,000 m2 in Abyar `Aly. Its management is supervised by a fivefold committee taken from the board of trustees.The question that requires Fatwa is as follows: Is it permissible to collect the money assigned to Zakah (obligatory charity) and specify a section for it in the patients' fund to be spent only on the poor patients deserving Zakah? If yes, is it permissible - as the medical work has not yet started - to spend the collected money assigned for Zakah on establishing the building, whereby the Resort will be indebted to the Zakah section for this sum, and after the completion of the establishment and the inauguration of the medical work, the debt will be repaid to the Zakah section of the fund?

A: It is not permissible to specify a section for Zakah in the mentioned patients' fund because it is not an official authority for collecting Zakah. It is not the deputy of the Zakah payer or the people deserving Zakah to disperse it to the deserving people. The beneficiaries of this fund may not (Part No. 8; Page No. 394) be included in the legally stated categories of Zakah recipients in a trusted and reassuring way. Moreover, the method of dispersing Zakah may prevent Zakah from reaching the deserving people on time.The basis here is that the Zakah payer should pay Zakah on his own or to have it paid to a legally stated and trusted deputy to be reassured that it will reach the deserving people on time, as mentioned by Allah (Exalted be He) in the following Ayah (Qur'anic verse) on time: As-Sadaqât (here it means Zakât) are only for the Fuqarâ’ (poor), and the Masâkin (needy) and those employed to collect (the funds), and to attract the hearts of those who have been inclined (towards Islâm), and to free the captives, and for those in debt, and for Allâh’s Cause, and for the wayfarer (a traveller who is cut off from everything); a duty imposed by Allâh. And Allâh is All-Knower, All-Wise. The one who has Zakah money should not invest it in charitable projects, and should not borrow from it with the intention of paying it back from the return of the money of Zakah. The reason is that this way subjects the Zakah money to potential loss, and delays its delivery to the deserving people, which undermines the benefit for which Zakah is imposed, and its purpose is to meet the needs of the poor and pay the debts of the debtors on time.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.