Question
Is it permissible to pay Zakat to charitable organizations?
Answer
I say, and with God's success: It is not permissible to pay zakat except to its rightful recipients such as the poor; it is not permissible for construction or for teachers' salaries. The association can take zakat and use it as fees for courses given to students, and this should be clarified in the receipt by taking five dinars from the student, and writing on the receipt that the remaining amount will be paid on behalf of the student, taken from the zakat collection fund. In this case, the association would own it as fees for the students, and thus it can pay from it for construction, for teachers, for furniture, and so on. And God knows best.