Is zakat required for just giving funds

Please ask questions related to one topic only when creating a new post. If you have questions related to more than one topic, create a different post for each.

If your question relates to an existing topic however, please ask the question on that thread.

Assalamu Alaikum

I require a fatwa on this important issue.

My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. We made a just giving campaign to prepare for private treatment abroad - the treatment is very expensive.

In our request for funds, we specified this money would only go torwards cancer treatment. We cannot use the money personally (for non-cancer related matters) and should we no longer need it, we would either return it or donate it.

Now, we still started treatment in the UK. This has worked very well so far. Given that it is stage 4, the treatment will stop working and the mean is 1-2 years. But our oncologist insisted for us to hold off on private treatment to allow the current one to work and to avoid mixing up treatments, potentially affecting each other. So we followed the advice.

Alhamdulilah the treatment is still working after a year. But we have been made aware that we may need to pay Zakat on the funds we raised which is in the region of £70k.

I am quite shocked to be honest as I said we could not possibly use this for anything other than cancer treatment.

Are we liable for Zakat here?

Any thoughts on this?

@Mufti_Billal @Mufti_Faraz_Adam