The Meaning of the Saying of Allah the Exalted: (for the poor and the needy)

The Shaykh : So who are the poor and the needy? The poor and the needy are those who find their own sustenance and the sustenance of their families for a year. If a person does not have what is sufficient for him and his family for a year, then he is the poor and the needy. For example, if we assume that a man’s salary is three thousand and his expenditure is four thousand, does he deserve from the zakah? His salary is three thousand and his expenditure is four thousand; how much do we give him from the zakah? One thousand every month, meaning in the year we give him twelve thousand. And if we assume that a man has a large family, his salary is six thousand, and his expenditure is eight thousand, how much do we give him? We give him twenty-four in the year. And if we assume that a man has what is sufficient for his expenditure in terms of housing, clothing, and food, but he needs to get married and does not have a mahr, what do we give him from the zakah? We give him from the zakah a complete mahr by which he can obtain a wife, because marriage is among the necessities of a person. And if a person is given [funds] for his own expenditure on clothes, housing, and the like, then he is given [funds] for marriage a fortiori, because marriage is among the necessities. Indeed, the scholars say that if one wife is not sufficient for him, he is given the mahr of two wives; and if that is not sufficient, he is given the mahr of three; if that is not sufficient, he is given the mahr of four. That is to say, he is given according to his need. Now, if a person has what is sufficient for his food, drink, clothes, and housing, but he is a student of knowledge who needs books to benefit from and does not have money, is he given from the zakah to buy books for knowledge? The answer is yes, because the books he needs are among the most important matters. This is unlike if we bought books for students of knowledge, for that is a matter of consideration. The difference between the two is that in the first case, we are meeting the need of a specific poor person who is unable [to provide for it], whereas in the second case, it is not so.