Question Summary:
Can Zakaat be given to someone who owns land but is in financial constraints?

Question Detail:

Assalamu alaikum plz reply me this is second time I'm submitting my query n my friend is in desperate need plz. I have a friend in india n I know her since I was in grade 5, very honest n reliable girl from a respectable tabligi family. Now she's married to an alim n live in a small village called tankaria in district bharuch of gujarat. Some how I came in contact with her last year via what's app almost after 8 to 9 years n she has 3 kids, oldest is a 14 years old boy with severe health complications n he has to get admitted to hospital every now n then as he has a problem of protein leakage from his kidneys, he might have to go for dialysis if protein doesn't stop leaking, other two kids are normal 12 year old boy n a girl younger than him. Now her husband works in a small madrasa n doesn't have sufficient income to manage his kids's hospital expenses n run a family so I helped them once to payoff their debt. After a year of contact n conversation I came to know that she lives in a rented house which is made near a lake n also the land it's built was a part of lake before, so every year in the monsoon they get water from the ceiling n sometimes when lake is flooded water comes in her house plus walls also get wet as the house is too old. N this year she noticed that water also popped up from the floor, She has a plot of 1200 square feet in the same village n she wants to build a house their, but she doesn't have any savings n nothing else that can help her build the house. Her husband's income is hardly around 5 to 6 thousand indian rupees n she really wanna get a good house especially because of her oldest child's condition, they asked some contractors about building their home so estimated expenses were around 15,00,000 to 18,00,000 Indian Rs. She has 1 tola (10 to 11 grams) gold no silver or any other savings. So is she allowed to have zakat? They asked to local mufti n he said that they can use zakat to build their house as their condition isn't so good, she told me that she can't even afford to take debt as they will never be able to payoff with such a small income. Can we create a page for her on gofundme.com where ppl of all religion help needy ppl to overcome their difficulties. Plz reply asap as she messages me with so much hope n I feel bad as I'm not sure if I can give her zakat or no. Jazakallah khair.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
We take note of the difficult circumstances your friend finds herself in. May Allah make it easy for her. Aameen
In principle, Zakaat may be given to a person does not own the Nisaab amount over and above his basic necessities. Zakaat can also be given to a person who earns but that amount is insufficient to meet his family’s basic necessities.[i]
Your concern for your friend is praiseworthy and an act of great reward. You may create a fund page for her and request for lillah funds. If you seek Zakaah funds, you may consider advising your friend and her husband to take a loan to the value of building a house and create a liability on themselves to be legitimate recipients of Zakaat. You may then request Zakaat funds through the page.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Aboobakr Siddeeq bin Mufti Amjad Mohammad
Student Darul Iftaa 
Azaadville, JHB, South Africa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.