And if any of them dies after the wealth has been acquired but before it is distributed, his share belongs to his heirs.

The third share is for needy orphans. An orphan is one whose father dies while he is still a minor. Boys and girls are treated alike in this regard; once they reach puberty, the designation of orphan no longer applies to them.

The fourth share is for the poor: those among the people entitled to the fayʾ who do not have enough to meet their needs. The poor entitled to the fayʾ are distinct from the poor who receive alms, since the categories to which the two funds may be distributed differ.

The fifth share is for wayfarers: travelers from among those entitled to the fayʾ who lack the means to support themselves. This applies to those merely passing through, not to one who has set out on a journey. This, then, is the ruling concerning the distribution of one-fifth of the fayʾ.

As for the remaining four-fifths, they are spent on the general interests of the Muslims, including the stipends of the army and whatever the Muslims cannot do without. This is not restricted to the army. Aḥmad said, according to the report of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan al-Iskāfī—when he was asked about the fayʾ, whether it was for all Muslims or for some people to the exclusion of others—“It is for all Muslims.” Thus, he permitted alms to be spent on those entitled to the fayʾ, but did not permit the fayʾ to be spent on those entitled to alms.

Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Kaḥḥāl also said: “I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh, ‘May some of one’s zakat be sent to the frontier?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’” Thus, he permitted it to be spent on those stationed at the frontier from among the people entitled to the fayʾ, contrary to the Shāfiʿī scholars, who held that this was impermissible.

They said: “Those entitled to alms are people who have no migration, who are not among those fighting in defense of the Muslims, and who are not defenders of the Islamic polity. Those entitled to the fayʾ are people of migration, defenders of the Islamic polity, protectors of its inviolable domain, and fighters against the enemy.”

Originally, the term “migration” applied only to one who migrated from his homeland to Medina in pursuit of Islam. After the Conquest, however, the legal ruling concerning migration lapsed, and Muslims came to be classified as emigrants and Bedouins. Thus, in the time of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), those entitled to alms were called Bedouins, while those entitled to the fayʾ were called emigrants.

When the imam wishes to provide for people in a way that serves the interests of the Muslims—such as envoys and those whose hearts are to be reconciled—it is permissible for him to give them from the fayʾ funds. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) did so for those whose hearts were to be reconciled on the day of Ḥunayn, including ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn al-Fazārī, al-Aqraʿ ibn Ḥābis al-Tamīmī, and al-ʿAbbās ibn Mirdās al-Sulamī.