Treating a patient and considering it as Zakaat

Q: An orthodontist does braces for the teeth. Some patients are brought to him by people saying that these are people worthy of Zakaat, do their treatment and you can count it as you giving Zakaat money to the value of the treatment. However, there doesn't seem to be tamleek here. How can he do the treatment for these poor patients and count it as Zakaat?

A: It will be incorrect. He may give him zakaat and thereafter ask him to pay it.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)