The categories to which zakah is distributed.

The Shaykh : Now, after we have learned the rulings of zakah that Allah the Exalted has made easy, zakah must reach its proper place. A person does not have the option to give his zakah to whomever he wishes, because Allah the Exalted has taken charge of its distribution. Let our brother recite for us the verse regarding the distribution of alms. Who hid it? Yes. I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan.
The student: .

The Shaykh : Well done. May Allah bless you. The word "innama" (only) indicates restriction, signifying that alms do not go beyond these categories. We are discussing two categories, or rather three. Two categories are like one thing, and one is independent. We are speaking of the poor and the needy. Who are the poor and the needy? The poor and the needy are those who do not find enough for themselves and their dependents. They are those who do not find enough for themselves and their dependents, either because they have nothing, or because they work, earning ten riyals one day, twenty another, and nothing on another day. The point is that he does not find enough for himself and his family. This is the poor person. And so is the needy person. But the needy person has a lighter need. He is given, but how much? Is he given until he becomes rich, or is he given a specific amount? The second option is the stronger position, otherwise some scholars say: give him from the zakah until the description of poverty is removed from him. This might require hundreds of thousands. But most scholars say: give him the amount sufficient for one year only. And when the year ends, and the zakahs of the next year come in, that is fine. How do we know that the money he has is not enough for a year, and you know that accidents may befall a person? People may be in distress. How do we estimate this? Let us suppose this is a man with a job. His salary is five thousand, but he spends ten thousand because he has a large family, and wages are high and expensive. What do we do? How much do we give him? Five thousand, to complete his need. Five thousand multiplied by twelve? No. That is wrong. Sixty thousand. It reaches sixty thousand. Meaning we give him the sixty thousand, but some people may be reckless; if you give him the sixty thousand all at once, he might crash his car for sixty thousand and remain hungry. What do we do? We give him in installments. Yes, we give him in installments. And there is no harm in this, even though it involves delaying the zakah, but it is for the benefit of the poor person. Now, the third, which is actually the second: the debtor, meaning the one who has a debt. The debtor means the one who has a debt upon him. I mean by debt that he has a right owed to someone in his conscience, but he cannot pay it off. This person is also given from the zakah. In which category in the verse does he fall? His saying: . If a person has a salary that is sufficient for him and his family for food, drink, clothing, and housing, but he is in debt. He borrowed for his marriage, to buy a house, or the like, and cannot pay it off. Do we give him from the zakah? Yes. But do we give it to him to pay it off, or do we go to the one who is owed and give it to him? This depends on the benefit, my brothers. If this indebted man is careful to clear his conscience and is trustworthy, and we know that if we give it to him, he will immediately pay the debt, then we give it to him, because it is more modest, further from showing off, and he handles the payment of his debt himself. But if we fear that if we give this man the money to pay it off, he will play with it and say, "Allah provides sustenance for the debt," do we give it to him or go to the one who is owed and give it to him? The second. We go to his creditor and say, "So-and-so, we have been informed that you are owed such and such an amount of money from so-and-so." He says, "Yes." "Here, please," and we give it to him. This is what we can discuss regarding the people of zakah.