Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Is it valid to pay zakat to more than one of the 8 (0r 7) categories, but less than all of them, for example to pay 2 of the catergories e.g give half of it to a poor person and part of it to a poor talib ul ilm
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
I pray that this finds you well, and in the best of health and spirits. May Allah grant you all good and success in this life and the next.
In the Hanafi school, it is permitted to give all one’s zakat to one of the zakat-categories specified by Allah in verse 9.60, or to spread it across some or all of these categories. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Allah Most High said,
9:60 [Obligatory] charity is only for the poor and needy, those who work to collect them, those whose hearts are brought together, the ransoming of slaves, debtors, in Allah’s way, and the traveller; so Allah ordains; Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.
And Allah alone gives success.
Faraz Rabbani