The author’s statement, “he is given what will enable him to reach his hometown,” indicates that he is not given anything beyond that. If any of the money remains after he arrives, he must return it to its owner if the owner is known; otherwise, it is returned to the public treasury. This is unless the wayfarer is poor, in which case he takes it on account of poverty; when he reaches his hometown, he does not return it, because the poor take possession of zakah as an established ownership.

Whoever has dependents takes what will suffice for them, and it is permissible to distribute it to a single category.

His statement, “Whoever has dependents takes what will suffice for them,” means that if he has dependents, he takes whatever will suffice for them, even if it amounts to many dirhams. If, for example, he has a large family, living expenses are high, and he needs one hundred thousand for the year, then we give him one hundred thousand. That is because his family are his responsibility. Thus, he is given what will suffice for himself and his dependents, since this falls under meeting a need.

His statement, “dependents,” is derived from ʿaylah (poverty), because dependents are poor in relation to the person who supports them. Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“And if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you from His bounty.” [al-Tawbah 9:28]

In the legal sense, dependents are those whom a person supports, such as wives, children, and siblings. It does not refer only to children, as has become commonly understood among people.

His statement, “It is permissible to distribute it to a single category,” means one of the eight categories mentioned by Allah in His saying:

“Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect it …” [al-Tawbah 9:60]

This issue is one over which the scholars differ. Some scholars maintain that all the categories must be included in the distribution of zakah. Thus, if someone’s zakah is eighty dirhams, he must give each one ten, for example—