Question
Is it permissible to pay off the debts of a family to the grocery store, considering that his wife smokes and both the children and the husband smoke? Is the charity valid?
Answer
I say, and with God's help: If they are poor, it is permissible to give them zakat and to pay off their debts from the grocery store after informing them and obtaining their explicit or implicit consent. It is preferable to give to others who are in greater need than them, and God knows best.