Is it permissible for a wife to give her Zakat on her wealth to her husband, who is experiencing financial difficulties due to his trade, even though he is not theoretically poor, based on the principle that those closest are most deserving of kindness?

Scholars have differed on the permissibility of a wife giving her zakat to her poor husband, falling into two opinions:

1. Impermissibility: This was the view of Abu Hanifa and some jurists, who argued that a man's relationship to his wife is like a woman's to her husband, and just as a man is prohibited from giving to his wife, so too a woman should not give to her husband. 2. Permissibility: This is the view of the majority of jurists (including Ath-Thawri, Ash-Shafi'i, the two companions of Abu Hanifa, one of the two narrations from Malik and Ahmad, Ash-Shawkani, and Ibn Hazm). They based their argument on the hadith of Zaynab, the wife of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, if it would suffice for her to give charity to her husband and orphans under her care. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: "For them are two rewards: the reward of kinship and the reward of charity."

The preponderant view: is that of the majority, which permits a woman to give her zakat to her poor or indebted husband. This is supported by the hadith of Zaynab, and by the fact that a wife is not obligated to provide for her husband, even if he is in hardship, unlike a husband who is obligated to provide for his wife. However, if the husband is not poor or indebted, it is not permissible to give him zakat, for example, to strengthen his business.