The second category is the needy (al-masākīn): those who can cover most, or roughly half, of their essential requirements.

The third consists of those employed to administer zakat: its collectors and record-keepers.

Fourth are those whose hearts are to be reconciled (al-muʾallafah qulūbuhum): people whose acceptance of Islam is hoped for, whose harm is to be averted, or whose faith is expected to grow stronger through the gift.

Fifth is for emancipating slaves (fī ar-riqāb): this includes mukātabs—slaves under a contract of manumission—and the ransoming of a Muslim prisoner.1

Sixth is the debtor (al-ghārim) who has assumed liabilities to reconcile quarrelling parties, even if he is otherwise solvent, or who has incurred debts for himself while being poor.

Seventh is “in the path of Allah”: the volunteer fighters2 who receive no regular stipend from the state.

Eighth is the stranded traveler (ibn as-sabīl): a wayfarer cut off from his resources, as opposed to someone merely setting out from his homeland; he is given enough3 to reach home. If he has dependents, he is granted what will suffice them as well.

It is permissible to allocate the entire zakat to a single category, though it is recommended to give it to relatives whom one is not legally obliged to support.

Section

Zakat is not to be given to a Hashimite, a Muttalibite,4 their freedmen, or to a poor—