Q. Could you please explain to whom zakah should be paid, and how to distribute it among them?
K. Rehman
A. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked by some people to give them some zakah money, he said to them: “God has not left the distribution of zakah to be determined even by a prophet with a message or by an angel whose position is close to Him. He has ruled on it Himself, giving it to eight types of people. If you belong to any of them, I will give you; but if not, then you have no claim to any of it.” In saying so, the Prophet was referring to Verse 60 of Surah 9, which may be translated as follows: “Charitable donations are only for the poor and the needy, and those who work in the administration of such donations, and those whose hearts are to be won over, for the freeing of people in bondage and debtors, and to further God’s cause, and for the traveler in need. This is a duty ordained by God, and God is All-Knowing, Wise.”
This verse explains that zakah may be paid only to these people: the poor and the needy in order to improve their situation and let them have a comfortable standard of living; the zakah administrators so that the zakah institution should be self-financing; and those whom we would like to win their support of the Islamic cause. This group could be newcomers to Islam, or non-Muslims who are sympathetic to Islam. Whether this group is to be paid from zakah or not depends on whether their support is needed or not, considering whether Islam is in a weak or strong position. In the case of these four groups, zakah is paid to them personally. The other four groups are paid for a purpose, which means that we can ensure that the purpose is served, rather than the payment is paid to them directly. Thus, for the freeing of slaves, the Muslim government can buy the slaves and set them free, using zakah money. In the case of an insolvent debtor, you could give your zakah to his creditors in repayment of his debts. Similarly, for a traveler in need, we could buy him a train or plane ticket to take him home. As for “furthering God’s cause” any action which is deemed to achieve that could be supported with zakah funds, particularly jihad, pilgrimage by people who are short of funds, education of children or adults, etc.
