There
are eight categories of the beneficiaries of zakah which Allah specifies in the
Qur’an: “The alms are only for the poor and the needy, for those who collect
them, for those whose hearts are to be reconciled, for the freedom of those who
are captives and in debt, for the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarers; [it
is] a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is the Knower, the Wise” [at-Taubah 60].
Ziyad ibn al-Harith as-Suda’i reported: “I came to the Messenger of Allah, upon
whom be peace, and pledged allegience to him. Then a man came and said to the
Messenger: ‘Give me some of the collected sadaqah.’ The Messenger replied:
‘Allah did not leave the matter of sadaqat to be decided by a prophet nor to
others ... He Himself classified it into eight categories. If you fit into any
of these categories, I will give you your due.’ “It was narrated by Abu Dawud
although in its chain of transmission there is ‘Abdurrahman al-’Afriqi, who is
of questionable merits.
The
following is an elaboration upon the preceding eight categories:
1
The Poor (al-Fuqara’).
2
The Needy (al-Masakin): The needy, along with the poor mentioned above, are
those who do not even have basic needs fulfilled. This categroy parallels the
category of the rich who have all they need. As mentioned elsewhere, a person
is considered rich if he possesses the nisab--that is, an amount in excess of
his essential needs or those of his children with regard to food, drink,
clothing, housing, animals, tools of his trade, and similar other necessities.
Thus, one who lacks all these is considered poor (fuqura’) and qualifies for
zakah.
A
hadith attributed to Mu’azh instructs: “Take from the rich [that is those who
are self-sufficient] and give to their poor.” Thus, zakah should be taken from
the rich who own a nisab and given to those who are not so fortunate.
No
difference has been made here between the poor (fuqura’) and the needy
(nasakin) as far as their needs, their poverty, and their qualification for
receiving zakah are concerned. The two are brought together in the preceding
Qur’anic ‘ayah with the necessary conjunction so that they could be
differentiated from each other. This does not contradict our categorizing the
masakin as a subgroup of the fuqura’. In the following hadith, the text
indicates that the needy are the poor who are not noticed by the people because
they abstain from begging. The Qur’an takes note of them because they, perhaps
due to their modesty, go unnoticed.
Abu
Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said: “The
needy person (miskin) is not one who goes around asking the people for a date
or two, or for a mouthful or two, but the one who is too embarrassed to ask.
Read if you wish: ‘They do not beg from men importunately’ [al-Baqarah 273].”
In a variant of this report, it is related: “The needy person is not one who
goes around asking people for a mouthful or two or a date or two, but the one
who has not enough [money] to satisfy his needs and whose condition is not
known to others. Thus, sadaqah is given to him and he does not beg from the
people.” This is narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The
amount of zakah given to a poor person
Zakah
aims at supporting the poor by satisfying their needs. A specified amount is
therefore given to them on a continuous basis to alleviate their state of
poverty. This amount differs depending on circumstances and individuals. ‘Umar
reported: “If you happen to give [alms], you should give to satisfy one’s
needs.” Qadi ‘Abdulwahhab says that Malik never stipulated a limit to the
amount that can be given. To him, zakah may even be given to one who has a
house, a servant, and a mount to ride, provided he is in need. The import of
the preceding hadith is clear-- that is, asking for help is permissible for a
person who is poor until he gets what he needs for his livelihood and is freed
from his needs.
Qabisah
ibn Mukhariq al-Hilali reported: “I had a debt. I went to the Messenger of
Allah, upon whom be peace, and asked for his help. He answered: ‘Wait until we
have funds for sadaqah, then we will give you some.’ He also said: ‘O Qabisah,
sadaqah is justified only for the following three: first, a man who is in debt,
for his case makes it permissible to receive [alms] until his difficulty is
resolved; second, a man who is struck by calamity which destroys his holdings,
which also makes it permissible for him to receive [alms] until he is in a
position to earn a sustenance [or he said, ‘... what satisfies his needs and makes
him self-sufficient’]; and third, a man who has been reduced to poverty and
three persons of caliber from among his people testify to his desperate
situation will receive until he finds for himself a means of support [or he
said, ‘... what satisfies his needs and makes him self-sufficient’]. Other than
these cases, O Qabisah, it is not permissible (Sahat). A person receiving it
(sadaqah) will be consuming forbidden holdings.’ “This is narrated by Ahmad,
Muslim, Abu Dawud, and an-Nasa’i
Is
zahah given to a person who can work?
Individuals
strong in body and earning their living are not entitled to zakah. Their
position is similar to that of the rich.
1.
‘Ubaidullah ibn ‘Adiyy al-Khiyar reported: “Two men told me that they went to
the Prophet, upon whom be peace, during the Farewell Pilgrimage while he was
distributing charity. They asked him for help. He gave them a look from the
head down and then found them to be sturdy and strong. Then he said: ‘If you
desire, I shall give it to you. But, there is no zakah for one who is rich,
neither for the one who is strong and earning.’ “ This is related by Abu Dawud
and anNasa’i.
Concerning
the merits of this hadith, al-Khattabi says that it provides the criterion that
if a person is not known to have means, it will be presumed that he has none.
The hadith also provides the rule that one who appears to be sturdy is not
excluded from receiving the zakah unless his income is determined, for there
are some people who are strong in body but for one reason or another are unable
to work. Such people may receive charity according to this hadith.
2.
It is related from Rayhan ibn Yazid from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet,
upon whom be peace, said: “Sadaqah is neither permissible for the rich nor for
the one who is of energetic disposition, sound body, and healthy limbs.” This
is related by Abu Dawud and at-Tirmizhi. The latter grades it as sound (sahih).
Ash-Shaf’i, Ishaq, Abu ‘Ubaid, and Ahmad uphold it. The Hanafiyyah say a strong
and healthy person is allowed to take sadaqah, provided he does not possess 200
dirhams or more. An-Nawawi says: “I asked al-Ghazzali if an able-bodied person
who comes from a rich family and is not used to physical labor in earning his
living can be entitled to zakah. He answered that he could.” This is a sound
rule which takes into consideration a person’s vocation. For example, someone had 200 dirhams and did
not pay zakah on the sum for two years. The opinion which says that zakah is
due on the property itself means that the amount due is for one year only since
it decreased by five dirhams, which was the amount due for zakah at the end of
the first year. The second opinion, that zakah is the responsibility of the
owner, means that he should pay zakah twice, one for each year, as zakah is the
responsibility of the owner and is not affected by the decrease of the nisab.
To
be continued
