Back to search

What is the ruling regarding the funds of Zakat and Sadaqat, who are those eligible to receive from them, and is there a difference among the four Imams on this matter?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Non-obligatory charities (sadaqat) may be spent on the general welfare of the poor and needy, including roads and hospitals, or as specified by the giver.

As for zakat, it may only be given to the eight categories mentioned in the Quran: "Indeed, [obligatory] charities are only for the poor and the needy, and those who work on [collecting] them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and for [freeing] captives, and for those in debt, and for the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarer – an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise." (At-Tawbah: 60). It is not permissible to pay zakat to anyone outside of these categories, and there is no significant disagreement among scholars regarding this, despite some differences in detailed issues related to the disbursement of zakat, such as whether all categories must be covered or the specific amount given.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy