The Meaning of the Saying of Allah the Exalted: (Indeed, alms are only for the poor...)

The Shaykh : These are eight categories whom Allah the Exalted mentioned using the context of restriction and the method of "innama," because "innama" is one of the tools of restriction, and restriction is affirming the ruling for the specified category in which it is restricted and denying it for everything else. I said this to make it clear that zakah is not to be distributed for building mosques, nor for building schools, nor for repairing roads, nor for providing water, nor for any other public benefits, but rather it is to be distributed only to these eight categories, .