If we were to maintain that zakāh is a debt attached solely to the person’s liability, it would be waived from anyone who is in debt, for debt itself attaches to the liability. Thus, if we say that the locus of zakāh is the same liability and a man owes one thousand while also possessing one thousand, no zakāh would be due on him because the two claims would conflict. The correct view, however, is that zakāh is due on the wealth itself, in light of the Almighty’s words, “Take charity from their wealth” (Qur’an 9:103), and the Prophet’s statement in this ḥadīth: “Inform them that Allah has made a charity obligatory in their wealth.” Nevertheless, it remains connected to the liability in the sense that, once it falls due and a person neglects to pay, he is still held responsible; in that way it relates to the liability.

Another benefit of this ḥadīth is that zakāh is not obligatory upon the poor, for he said, “from their rich and returned to their poor.” But who counts as “rich”? Is it only the one who owns millions? In the context of zakāh, a rich person is anyone who possesses the niṣāb, the minimum amount that triggers the obligation. Once a person owns a niṣāb, he is considered rich with regard to zakāh, even though he may be poor in some other respect; regarding zakāh he is rich and must pay it.

A further benefit is that zakāh should be distributed to the poor of the giver’s own locality, for the wording is, “and then returned to their poor.” It should not be taken out of the town except for a valid reason; as long as there are entitled recipients within the town, they have priority over others. Some scholars have even ruled it impermissible to transfer zakāh outside the locality when eligible recipients are present, adducing this ḥadīth, the fact that the local poor look to the wealth of their rich, and the concern that, should the affluent send it elsewhere, the poor may feel deprived of their right and resort to looting and corruption. Clearly, it is a mistake for someone to forward the zakāh of his wealth to far-off lands while eligible recipients exist in his own town, for those who are nearer are more deserving.