Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

In the Noble Quran, Allah has specified eight categories of people eligible to receive Zakah:  "Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of God; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by God, and God is full of knowledge and wisdom."{At-Tawbah, 60}. Islam has made Zakah an inalienable right of the poor and needy in addition to the other categories. Allah said {what means}, "And those in whose wealth is a recognised right. For the (needy) who asks and him who is prevented (for some reason from asking);"{Al-Ma`arij, 24-25}.

No one is permitted to give Zakah to other than the above categories and whoever does so will be held to account before Allah the Almighty. This is attested to in the following Hadith: Narrated Ziyad ibn al-Harith as-Suda'i: I came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and swore allegiance to him, and after telling a long story he said: Then a man came to him and said: Give me some of the sadaqah (alms). The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah is not pleased with a Prophet's or anyone else's decision about sadaqat till He has given a decision about them Himself. He has divided those entitled to them into eight categories, so if you come within those categories, I shall give you what you desire."{Related by Dar Qhotni}.

In fact, Zakah committees are authorized by Zakah givers to deliver the funds to their eligible recipients and they have no jurisdiction to do otherwise. Thus, paying the Zakah for training purposes isn`t one of the categories mentioned in the above verse. Accordingly, it doesn`t avail and is impermissible to be given for such purpose as doing so constitutes an aggression against the right of the poor and needy. In addition, the management of the Zakah Fund is responsible for providing the financial allocations needed for staff training. And Allah the Almighty knows best.