Thus, zakah from any category of wealth is the impurity of that category, because zakah purifies, and that which purifies becomes soiled by what it cleanses. The evidence for this is Allah’s saying: “Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them” [al-Tawbah 9:103].

If there is a dirty vessel before you and you wash it with water, the water then carries that dirt. This is why the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “It is but the impurities of the people.”

In relation to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, Hashim is his second grandfather and third forefather.

Some scholars permitted a Hashimite to receive zakah if he is a fighter in Allah’s cause, one in debt for reconciling people, or someone whose heart is to be reconciled. Yet the apparent meaning of the texts is that this is prohibited, due to their general wording.

The scholars differed over whether it is valid for a Hashimite to give his zakah to another Hashimite, in light of the Prophet’s saying, “It is but the impurities of the people”: does this mean people other than them, or not?

Some scholars said that it is valid for a Hashimite’s zakah to be given to another Hashimite like himself, because they are equal in nobility. Since they are equal, it is not considered a dishonor for him to give his zakah to his peer.

However, when we consider the general wording of the hadiths, we find no distinction between the zakah of a Hashimite and that of anyone else, for he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “the impurities of the people,” and the Hashimites are among the people; therefore, it is not lawful for them.

But if it were assumed that there was no means of saving their lives from starvation except through the zakah of the Hashimites, then the zakah of the Hashimites would take precedence over the zakah of non-Hashimites.