that he cannot repay, or a debt he has undertaken for some public benefit even though he is personally capable of settling it. For this reason the scholars say that liability (ghurm) is of two kinds:

1. Liability on behalf of others. This is the case of someone who assumes a financial burden in order to reconcile disputing parties. Imagine two tribes locked in quarrel, hostility, and hatred; a man of goodwill steps in and restores peace between them for a sum of money that he commits himself to pay. In this situation he becomes a debtor, not for his own sake but for a public interest—namely, the reconciliation of those two tribes. The scholars have ruled that such a man must be given from the zakah whatever will discharge this obligation, even if he is wealthy, because the debt was not incurred for himself but for the welfare of others. Suppose, for example, that a person possesses 100,000 yet reconciles two tribes for 10,000 riyals—a sum he could easily cover from his own resources. We nevertheless say he is not required to do so; instead, we give him from the zakah what will wipe out that liability. This serves the public interest and encourages people to engage in reconciliation. Were we not to help such a person and reimburse what he spent, people would grow reluctant to intervene between hostile or warring factions. By giving the one who incurred the debt what he needs, we motivate and support him.

2. Liability for oneself. An example is a man who rented a house for five thousand riyals but lacks the means to pay the rent. He may not be needy with respect to his food, drink, or clothing, yet he still must settle the debt that arose from renting the house. Consequently, we give this man the rent money from the zakah.