only a case in which he gives each of them both a midday and an evening meal until they are satisfied. In that case, each has received his rightful amount and more.

As for disposing of it however one wishes, Allah Most High did not require that. It is in the case of zakat that He required a transfer of ownership, because He mentioned its recipients with the preposition li- (“for”), saying:

“Alms are only for the poor and the needy.”

Thus, where Allah describes the use of funds with the preposition fī (“in”), as in His words, “for freeing slaves” and “in the cause of Allah,” the correct view is that a transfer of ownership is not required. Rather, zakat funds may be used to free a slave, even though this does not transfer ownership of those funds to the person freed. They may also be used to purchase weapons to support the cause of Allah, and for other such purposes. Hence some scholars have said that providing a meal is preferable to transferring ownership: the recipient may sell what you give him rather than eat it, or may even hoard it. When food is actually served, however, the Lawgiver’s purpose is certainly fulfilled.

At most, one might argue that transferring ownership may also be termed it‘ām (feeding), as in the statement:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, granted the grandmother a one-sixth share.”

And in the hadith:

“Whatever allotment Allah grants a prophet belongs to whoever assumes authority after him.”

The reply, however, is that the term undoubtedly includes feeding in its ordinary sense, with even greater justification. Moreover, that usage occurs only when the giver is mentioned, as when one says, “He granted him such-and-such.” When the expression is used without qualification, as in “Feed these needy people,” nothing is understood from it except actually feeding them. Transferring ownership of food was termed “feeding” because they would eat what they received, and feeding was the intended purpose. But when the intended use is something other than eating, this is not called “feeding” without qualification.