Can income zakat funds be used to buy a goat for an aqiqah?

Summary

Income zakat funds may not be used to buy a goat for an aqiqah. Zakat wealth does not in reality belong to the payer but to the eight categories of recipients named in the Quran, so the payer cannot spend it on aqiqah or sacrificial animals. The fatwa suggests performing the aqiqah with other money that is not the zakat funds, first given as charity to the baby's father. No particular method of distributing the aqiqah meat is required, for example in thirds for family, neighbours and relatives, and the poor, or by cooking it for a small gathering.

Written in our own words from the original fatwa — check the source before acting on it.