Is it permissible to give zakah to one who possesses the nisab but does not possess anything in excess of that?

Abu Layla : In the name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. My shaykh, I have two questions. Is it permissible to give zakah to one who possesses the nisab and nothing else, and upon whom zakah has become obligatory?

The Shaykh : The answer is that one upon whom zakah has become obligatory is considered wealthy, and it is not permissible for a wealthy person to receive charity. So, if this wealthy person pays the zakah on his nisab and the nisab then falls below the threshold, he exits the state of being wealthy and enters the state of being poor. If that is the case, it is permissible for him to take zakah from the wealthy. However, one must observe a point here, which is that he must not scheme against the ruling of the Shari'ah by intentionally, for example, if he has one nisab, paying out more than what is obligatory on him in order to become poor, and thereby taking from the zakahs that may come to him from other wealthy people, so that he becomes wealthier than he was. The important thing is that zakah and wealth do not coexist; so whoever is wealthy, charity is not lawful for him. There is an explicit and authentic hadith regarding this.