These eight categories themselves fall into two broad groups:
- Muslim individuals who are in need.
- People whose receipt of zakah serves to assist and strengthen Islam.
Allah the Exalted says, “Charitable alms are only for the poor, the destitute, those employed to collect them, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, for freeing captives, for those burdened by debt, for the cause of Allah, and for the stranded traveler—an obligation from Allah; and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise” (Q 9:60).
This noble verse confines the recipients of zakah to these classes alone; spending it on anyone else is not valid. They are eight:
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The poor (fuqarā’). Their need is more acute than that of the destitute, for Allah began the verse with them, and priority is given to what is most important. They are the people who find nothing that adequately meets their living expenses and are unable to earn, or who possess only a small part of what they require. Such persons are granted from zakah the entirety of what will suffice them if they have nothing, or the balance of what will complete their sufficiency if they possess part of it, calculated for a full year.
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The destitute (masākīn). Their situation is better than that of the poor. A destitute person is one who secures most of his needs or half of them; he is given from zakah whatever will complete his needs for an entire year.
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The workers appointed over zakah. These are the agents who, by order of the Muslim leader, collect the zakah from its owners, safeguard it, and distribute it to those entitled to it. They are to be paid from the zakah an amount equal to the wage for their labor—unless the authority has already assigned them salaries from the public treasury for this task, in which case it is impermissible for them to take anything from zakah, as is the practice today, for the workers are paid by