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People to Whom Zakat Can be Given

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by ShariahBoard.org

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullah Mawlana 

Can you please provide a list of individuals who Zakat can be given to and the ones it should not be given to? Can we spend Zakat money for drilling borewells in areas with drought or in helping poor girls get married?

Jazak Allah Khair

الجواب و باللہ التوفیق

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatuh

  1. In Quran, 8 masarif (i.e. types of people to whom Zakat money can be given to) have been described, one should discharge their Zakat money in one or more of those masarif. In fiqh al-hanafi 2 of those msarif are not present therefore the total number is decreased to 6 and are described below:
    • Faqeer: A person who truly does not have any means to support him
    • Miskeen: A person who has some (but not all) means of supporting his basic needs
    • Amileen: People who are appointed to collect the Zakat money
    • Maqrooz: A person who is a sahib-e-nisab (i.e. a person who meets or exceeds the threshold of wealth required to make discharging Zakat mandatory upon them), however he owes so much money to others that if he pays them back he will not be sahib-e-nisab anymore
    • Fee-Sabeelillah: This specifically means the people who are engaged in gaining ilm-e-deen or otherwise striving in spreading the deen of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala
    • Musafireen: People who otherwise do not deserve the Zakat money but became needy during a journey (giving them as much as absolutely needed is permissible)
  1. Zakat cannot been given to non-Muslims. It is incorrect to give Zakat to a person who is a Syed by lineage. It is impermissible to give Zakat to one’s father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, children and their lineage, husband or wife. In addition, a person who owns things other than basic needs e.g. land, farm, housing (other than the one in which he is living), clothes which he doesn’t use anymore etc. the collective value of which becomes greater than 52.5 tola of silver, then giving Zakat to such a person is impermissible.
  2. It is impermissible to use Zakat money to drill wells
  3. Yes, it is permissible to give Zakat money for weddings of poor girls. However, while discharging Zakat money in this masraf, one should make sure that the person they are giving Zakat to is not a sahib-e-nisab. Because sometimes the money collected for a girl’s marriage (which is in her possession) leads to her becoming a sahib-e-nisab. One should practice caution and ensure their Zakat money is not discharged and utilized in vain.  

فقط واللہ اعلم بالصواب

This answer was collected from Shariahboard.org. It was established under the supervision of the eminent faqih of our era, Hazrat Shah Mufti Mohammed Navalur Rahman damat barakatuhum.

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