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Zakat Allocation Towards Payment Of Salaries And Other Expenses

Is it valid to use zakat money to pay for operating costs of the zakat-collecting institution, such as salaries?

Zakat may not be used to pay for operating costs (e.g. salaries, utilities, administration, etc.) even if the institution taking zakat directly benefits zakat eligible individuals; a condition of valid zakat distribution is that the zakat is given in its entirety directly to the eligible recipient, so that the recipient actually owns the zakat; it is permissible to give zakat to recipients and to charge them a fee for a service, from which an operating cost may be paid (e.g. a hospital gives zakat to a needy patient; the patient gives the money to the hospital for treatment; the hospital allocates a portion of the money for the doctor's salary).

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