Can a person who will pay Zakaah on his money give it to a creditor on behalf of an imprisoned debtor?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

It is permissible to give Zakah to a debtor to repay his debt, for he belongs to the categories of the due recipients of Zakah. As for giving Zakah to the creditor, if this is done after permission by the person in debt, there is nothing wrong with that; yet, if the debtor's permission is not obtained, this issue is subject to differing juristic opinions. The scholars of the Hanafi and Shaafi`i schools of Fiqh regard this act as invalid; whereas the scholars of the Hanbali school of Fiqh consider it valid. In Al-Insaaf, Al-Merdaawi said, "If the owner of the money gives it to the creditor without the permission of the poor person, this is valid, according to the correct opinion of the Hanbali school."

In Al-Fataawa Al-Hindiyyah, Shaykh Nithaam, a Hanafi scholar, said, “If he repays the debt on behalf of the poor person through his Zakah, this is valid if the latter's permission is obtained; otherwise, it is invalid; and the debt is no longer due.”

An-Nawawi said in Al-Majmoo’, “It may not be given to the creditor unless the debtor agrees; if his permission is not obtained, the paid money is not regarded as Zakah, but repayment of the debt.”

Hence, it is safer to advise the debtor and obtain his approval to pay off the debt on his behalf, or to give him the money so that he himself repays the debt. As such, a creditor assigned to distribute Zakah may not take his due money thereof unless he notifies the debtor and obtains his permission or gives him the Zakah and takes it back from him willingly.

Allaah Knows best.