himself and his clothes clean, yet has no means at all; the unaware deem such people wealthy because of their restraint.

Qatadah said: “The poor person is the needy person afflicted with chronic incapacity, while the needy person is sound in health but in need.”

It is narrated from ‘Ikrimah that he said: “The poor are from among the Muslims, while the needy are from among the People of the Book.”

Al-Shafi‘i said: “The poor person is one who has neither wealth nor a profession sufficient for his needs, whether he is chronically incapacitated or not. The needy person is one who has wealth or a profession, but it does not suffice him, whether he asks or does not ask.” Thus, in his view, the needy person is better off than the poor person, because Allah the Exalted says: “As for the ship, it belonged to needy people” (al-Kahf 79). He affirmed that they possessed property despite describing them as needy.

According to the scholars of legal opinion, the poor person is better off than the needy person.

Al-Qutaybi said: “The poor person is one who has the bare subsistence of life, while the needy person is one who has nothing.”

It was also said: “The poor person is one who has a dwelling and a servant, while the needy person is one who owns nothing.” They said: Everyone who needs something is dependent upon it, even if he is independent of anything else. Allah the Exalted says: “You are those in need of Allah” (Ghafir 15). The needy person is one who needs everything. Do you not see how He urged that he be fed, and made the food of expiation for him? No deprivation is more severe than the need to ward off hunger.

Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i said: “The poor are the Emigrants, while the needy are those Muslims who did not emigrate.”

In sum, poverty and neediness both refer to need and frailty of condition. The poor person is the needy one whose need has broken the vertebrae of his back, while the needy person is the one whose spirit has weakened and become still, unable to move in pursuit of sustenance.

‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad al-Khatib informed us; ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Khallal related to us; Abu al-‘Abbas al-Asamm related to us; al-Rabi‘ informed us; al-Shafi‘i informed us; Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah informed us, from Hisham—that is, ibn ‘Urwah—from his father, from ‘Ubayd Allah ibn ‘Adi ibn al-Khiyar: two men told him that they came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and asked him for alms. He looked them over from head to toe (1), then said: “If you wish, I will give you something, but no share of it belongs to a wealthy person or to one who is strong and able to earn.” (2)

They differed concerning the level of wealth that prevents one from taking alms. The majority said: Its threshold is that a person possesses enough to suffice himself and his dependants for one year. This was the view of Malik and al-Shafi‘i.

The scholars of legal opinion said: Its threshold is that one possesses two hundred dirhams.