First: The categories eligible for Zakāh are well-known and specified in the Qur᾽ān in the verse: “Zakāh funds are only for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer it, and those whose hearts are to be won over, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allāh, and for the wayfarers; a duty imposed by Allāh. Allāh is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [At-Tawbah: 60].

• The poor (faqīr): Someone who has no wealth at all.
• The needy (miskīn): Someone who has some wealth but it is not enough to cover their basic needs such as food, drink, medicine, clothing, and housing.
• The debtor (ghārim): Someone who owes a debt for a basic need and cannot repay it.

Second: According to the majority of jurists, a woman is not obligated to support her poor husband financially. If she does, it is out of kindness and good companionship. Zaynab, the wife of ῾Abdullāh ibn Mas῾ūd, asked the Prophet (peace be upon him): “O Messenger of Allāh, is it sufficient for me to give charity to my poor husband and the orphan nephews in my care?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: “You will have the reward of charity and the reward of maintaining ties of kinship.”

Jurists have differed on whether it is permissible for a wealthy wife to give Zakāh to her poor or needy husband. Imam Al-᾽A῾ẓam (Abū Ḥanīfah) and one narration from Mālik and ᾽Aḥmad disallow it because the wife’s position relative to the husband is like the husband’s position relative to the wife, and because her Zakāh would benefit her indirectly. There will a conflict on who is receiving the benefit. However, the majority of jurists permit her to give Zakāh to her husband based on the ḥadīth mentioned above. This is the opinion of Al-Thawrī, Al-Shāfi῾ī, the two companions of Abī Ḥanīfah, one narration from Mālik, one narration from ᾽Aḥmad, and it is also the view of Al-Hādī, Al-Nāṣir, and Al-Mu᾽ayyad Bi-Allāh from the Zaydīs, as well as Ibn Ḥazm.

Third: If a person receives help, whether it is a right (i.e., Zakāh) or a donation (i.e., Ṣadaqah), we consider their situation. If the help they receive exceeds the niṣāb (minimum amount for Zakāh eligibility) after deducting their basic needs, they should not take from the Zakāh fund as they are considered wealthy. If they do not have the niṣāb, they may be given Zakāh until their wealth reaches the niṣāb, excluding basic needs.

It should be noted that for someone who is unemployed, we need to consider their circumstances:

• If they are not working due to physical, psychological, or social reasons, they fall under the description mentioned earlier.
• However, if they are unemployed out of laziness, pride, arrogance or reliance on others, Zakāh can be withheld from them to encourage them to work. Otherwise, it would be as if we are encouraging them to begging through giving them from Zakāh.

In the well-known ḥadīth, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked: “What is the best source of earning?” He replied: “A man’s work with his hands and every legitimate sale.” The Prophet (PBUH) also said: “No one eats better food than that which he eats out of the work of his hand. The Prophet of Allah, David (Dāwūd), used to eat out of the work of his hand.”

Fatwā issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr