What is the difference between the poor and the needy, and is zakah obligatory for each of them? I mean, do they all deserve it?

The questioner : What is the difference between the poor and the needy, and is zakah obligatory for each of them? I mean, do they all deserve it?

The Shaykh : The difference between the poor and the needy, when both are mentioned, is that the poor are in a more dire state of need than the needy. This is because the word "poor" (faqir) is derived from "poverty" (faqar), which means emptiness. Hence their saying, "This is a barren land," meaning there is no vegetation in it. So, the poor person is one who finds nothing, or finds less than half of his needs. The needy person (miskin) is one who is above that; he does not find full sufficiency, but he finds half or more. This is derived from "sakan" (dwelling), because this needy person has a degree of humility due to the scarcity of his wealth. So, when both are mentioned, this is the difference between them. However, if one is mentioned without the other, their meaning is the same. For example, you say, "Give charity to the poor" and "Give charity to the needy," and the meaning is the same. Here, the poor is interpreted as one who does not find sufficiency for himself and his family for a year, and the needy is interpreted in the same way. Therefore, we say regarding these two words and their like that they are two words that, when they come together, they differ, and when they are separated, they come together. Similarly, Islam and faith (iman): when both are mentioned, faith is what is in the heart, and Islam is in the limbs. And when Islam is mentioned generally, it includes the deeds of the limbs and the deeds of the hearts. Likewise, when it is said, "This is a believer," as in His saying: , it encompasses both Islam and faith. There are parallels in the Arabic language where two words are used, and they have one meaning when used separately and another meaning when used together.
And you ask whether charity is given to the needy? We say: Yes. Allah the Exalted mentioned their recipients in His saying: . The poor and the needy are those who take it because of their need. The workers on it are those who take it because of the need for them, because the worker on it is the one who takes charge of collecting it from people and distributing it to its rightful recipients. Those whose hearts are to be reconciled take it either because of their need or because of the need for them. If the intention is to strengthen their faith, it is for their need; and if the intention is to avert their evil, it is for the need for them, meaning because we need to avert their evil. In the case of freeing slaves, they take it because of their need. And for those in debt, they take it because of their need as well, though it may be for the need for them, as if they incurred debt to reconcile between people. And in the cause of Allah, they take it for their need and for the need for them as well. For the one who goes out in jihad is given from zakah to strengthen himself for the jihad, and in this state, he is in need of money, and people are in need of him for his defense of their religion. And the traveler is the one whose journey has been cut off, and he takes zakah because of his need. These are the people of zakah, and it is not permissible to distribute zakah to anyone other than them, as Allah the Mighty and Majestic has prescribed: .