Paying Zakat to Small Dependents of a Believer or Offset a Loan

“I once asked abu ’Abd Allah (a.s.), about a man who dies and leaves behind dependents. Can Zakat be given to them? He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, until they grow up, become adults and ask (themselves) by what means could they live and survive if that Zakat was cut off from them. I then said, ‘They do not know. He (the Imam) said, ‘The memories of their dead must be preserved and the religion of their father must be made beloved to them, so that they pay attention to the religion of their father; and if they become adults and decide to go to others; then do not give them any Zakat.”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about a man of knowledge and excellence who dies owing a certain amount of debts. He was not corrupt, a spendthrift, or a known beggar; can his debts be paid from Zakat like one or two thousand? He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, it can be paid.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Children of a Muslim man who dies can receive Zakat and al-Fitrah just as their father would receive, until they become adults and become knowledgeable of what their father was knowledgeable (believed in); they still can receive Zakat but if they become hostile, then Zakat is not given to them.”