Who may receive zakat
The seven categories entitled to zakat, who may never receive it, and the preferred order for choosing who to give it to.
There are seven kinds of people who are allowed to receive zakat.
| Category | Who this is |
|---|---|
| 1. Fakir (poor person) | A person who has some wealth but not enough to reach the nisab, or whose wealth is not growing, or not enough for essential needs. |
| 2. Miskin (needy person) | A person who has nothing and cannot even afford one meal. |
| 3. Aamil (collector of zakat) | A person appointed by the Islamic ruler to collect zakat. |
| 4. Mukatab (a slave working to buy freedom) | A slave who has an agreed sum of money to pay for their own freedom. |
| 5. Qardhar (debtor) | A person in debt who cannot repay it without becoming impoverished. |
| 6. Fi Sabilillah (for the sake of Allah) | A person in the cause of Allah, such as jihad, who is unable to continue because of poverty. |
| 7. Musafir (traveller) | A traveller far from home who has no money for the journey, even though they have wealth at home. |
You can give your zakat to just one of these categories, or split it between several. If the amount is small, it is better to give it all to one person. If the amount is large, it is better not to give it all to just one person, unless that person is in debt or has many people depending on them.
The following seven categories are eligible to receive Zakah.
| Category | Who this is |
|---|---|
| 1. Fakir (poor person) | A person who has some wealth but not enough to reach the nisab, or whose wealth is not growing, or not enough for essential needs. |
| 2. Miskin (needy person) | A person who has nothing and cannot even afford one meal. |
| 3. Aamil (collector of zakat) | A person appointed by the Islamic ruler to collect zakat. |
| 4. Mukatab (a slave working to buy freedom) | A slave who has an agreed sum of money to pay for their own freedom. |
| 5. Qardhar (debtor) | A person in debt who cannot repay it without becoming impoverished. |
| 6. Fi Sabilillah (for the sake of Allah) | A person in the cause of Allah, such as jihad, who is unable to continue because of poverty. |
| 7. Musafir (traveller) | A traveller far from home who has no money for the journey, even though they have wealth at home. |
It is preferable to give Zakah to a scholar who is poor rather than to a lay person, and preferable to give it to a debtor in need over an ordinary poor person.
The giver of Zakah may distribute it among all seven categories or give it to only one. It is preferable to give it to one person when the total Zakah is below the nisab. If it equals or exceeds the nisab, it is disliked to give it to just one person, unless that person is a debtor or has many dependants, in which case it is not disliked.
For Zakah to be valid, the recipient must be made the owner of the Zakah amount. Using Zakah funds for causes where no individual is made the owner (building or repairing mosques, bridges or water stations, fixing or cleaning roads, digging wells or canals, preparing and burying the deceased, or paying off a deceased person's debts) is not valid.
The preferred order for distributing zakah
- Relatives in need: siblings, their children, uncles and aunts.
- Neighbours.
- Fellow workers or people of the same profession.
- People from the same town or village.
- People with disabilities, the blind, and the handicapped who cannot earn, provided they are needy.
The following seven categories (aṣnāf) are eligible to receive Zakāh.
| Category | Who this is |
|---|---|
| 1. Fakir (poor person) | A person who has some wealth but not enough to reach the nisab, or whose wealth is not growing, or not enough for essential needs. |
| 2. Miskin (needy person) | A person who has nothing and cannot even afford one meal. |
| 3. Aamil (collector of zakat) | A person appointed by the Islamic ruler to collect zakat. |
| 4. Mukatab (a slave working to buy freedom) | A slave who has an agreed sum of money to pay for their own freedom. |
| 5. Qardhar (debtor) | A person in debt who cannot repay it without becoming impoverished. |
| 6. Fi Sabilillah (for the sake of Allah) | A person in the cause of Allah, such as jihad, who is unable to continue because of poverty. |
| 7. Musafir (traveller) | A traveller far from home who has no money for the journey, even though they have wealth at home. |
The payer may distribute Zakāh among all seven aṣnāf or restrict it to one. Where the total is below the niṣāb, giving it to a single recipient is preferable; where it equals or exceeds the niṣāb, restricting it to one person is makrūh unless that person is a debtor or has many dependants, in which case it is not makrūh.
Tamlīk, vesting ownership of the Zakāh amount in the recipient, is a condition of validity. Zakāh is therefore not validly discharged by spending it on causes in which no individual is made owner: the building or repair of mosques, bridges or water stations, road repair or cleaning, digging wells or canals, the preparation and burial of the deceased, or the settlement of a deceased person's debts.
The preferred order for distributing zakāh
- Needy relatives: siblings, their children, paternal and maternal uncles and aunts.
- Neighbours.
- Fellow workers or people of the same profession.
- People of the same town or village.
- The disabled, the blind, and the incapacitated who cannot earn, provided they are in need.
Terms on this page
Related
- The conditions for a valid payment of zakat What makes an act of giving actually count as zakat: who can pay it, the intention it needs, and who it must reach.
- Sadaqat al-Fitr (Zakat al-Fitr) Who must pay Sadaqat al-Fitr, when it becomes due, how much to give of each kind of food, and who may receive it.
- The ruling on zakat, and when it becomes obligatory Who zakat is obligatory on, what denying it means, and the eight conditions that must all be met before zakat is due.
- What zakat is, and why it matters The meaning of zakat, its place as the third pillar of Islam, and the warnings and rewards the Qur'an and hadith attach to it.