The Meaning of the Saying of Allah the Exalted: (And Those Who Work Thereon)

The Shaykh : The third: Those who work thereon. So who are those who work thereon? Those who work thereon are the committee or committees to whom the one in authority has delegated the matter of zakah in its collection and distribution. As for the one who is given zakah for a specific person to distribute it to its rightful recipients, he is not among those who work thereon, because he is an agent for a specific person and does not have authority. This is unlike the one who is an agent for the one in authority, for he has authority. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: "Those who work thereon," and He did not say "those who work therein." There is a difference between the two expressions, for His saying "those who work thereon" indicates that there is authority, and there is no authority except what comes from the one in authority. Some people may understand that the man entrusted with paying zakah to a specific person is among those who work thereon, and he takes from it. This is an error. Those who work thereon are those whom the one in authority tasks with the matter of zakah in its collection and distribution. The fourth