Would It Be Valid to Give Zakat to a Hospital?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

Would it be valid to give Zakat to a hospital in a Muslim country where the money would be used to purchase hospital equipment?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

No, it would not be permissible to give your zakat to a hospital which in turn will use it to purchase equipment.

The validity of your zakat payment depends upon a sound transfer of ownership of a specific portion of wealth to a poor person. This transfer must go from a zakat paying person to a zakat receiving person.

A hospital isn’t a poor person, thus this would not be a valid fulfilment of the obligation. But it would still remain praiseworthy to assist the hospital with other, general charitable donations.

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.