Tafseer of The Repentance · At-Tawba · 9:60
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement: إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ (Indeed, the alms are only for the poor and the needy, and for those employed to collect them, and for those whose hearts are to be won over, and for [the freeing of] the slaves, and for the debtors, and for the way of Allah, and for the wayfarer — as an obligation from Allah; and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise) (9:60).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is high, says: the alms (ṣadaqāt) are only for the poor and the needy, and for those whom Allah, whose praise is great, has mentioned.
* * *
Then the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the description of "the poor" (al-faqīr) and "the needy" (al-miskīn).
Some of them said: "the poor" is the needy one who refrains from begging, and "the needy" is the needy one who begs.
* Mention of who said that:
16818 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy), he said: "the poor" is the one who stays sitting in his house, and "the needy" is the one who travels about [to ask].
16819 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbdallāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy), he said: "the needy" are the wandering beggars, and "the poor" are the poor among the Muslims.
16820 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim, who said: a man related to me, on the authority of Jābir ibn Zayd: that he was asked about "the poor." He said: "the poor" are those who refrain [from begging], and "the needy" are those who beg.
16821 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Maʿqil ibn ʿUbaydillāh al-Jazarī related to us, saying: I asked az-Zuhrī about His statement: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor), he said: those who are in their houses and do not beg, and "the needy" are those who go out and beg.
16822 — Al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Saʿīd, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: "the poor" is the one who does not beg, and "the needy" is the one who begs.
16823 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his statement: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy), he said: "the poor" are those who do not ask the people, people of need, and "the needy" are those who ask the people.
16824 — Al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: "the poor" are those who do not beg, and "the needy" are those who beg.
* * *
Others said: "the poor" is the one who is chronically disabled (zaman) among the needy, and "the needy" is the one among them who is sound of body.
* Mention of who said that:
16825 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy), he said: "the poor" is the one who has a chronic disability, and "the needy" is the sound one who is needy.
16826 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his statement: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy), as for "the poor," that is the chronically disabled one who has a disability, and as for "the needy," that is the one who has no disability.
* * *
Others said: "the poor" are the poor among the emigrants (muhājirūn), and "the needy" are those among the Muslims who have not emigrated, while they are needy.
* Mention of who said that:
16827 — Al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥakam, on the authority of aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor), he said: the poor among the emigrants, and "the needy" are those who have not emigrated.
16828 — ...... he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor), the emigrants. Sufyān said: that means: and to the bedouins nothing of it is given.
16829 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: it used to be said: indeed, the alms are for the poor among the emigrants.
16830 — ...... he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: the alms used to be spent on the poor among the emigrants and on the way of Allah.
16831 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr and Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Abzā, who both said: there were people among the emigrants, one of whom owned a house, a wife, a slave (ʿabd), and a she-camel on which he performed the pilgrimage (ḥajj) and went out to fight; yet Allah counted them among the poor, and assigned them a share in the zakāh.
16832 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: it used to be said: indeed, the alms are for the poor among the emigrants and for the way of Allah.
* * *
Others said: "the needy" is the one whose earning capacity is weak.
* Mention of who said that:
16833 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAwn informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad, who said: ʿUmar said: the poor one is not the one who has no property, but the poor one is the one whose earning capacity is barren (al-akhlaq). Yaʿqūb said: Ibn ʿUlayya said: "al-akhlaq" is with us "al-muḥāraf" (the one who is deprived of good fortune, who is destitute).
16834 — Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn: that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah have mercy on him, said: the needy one is not the one who has no property, but the needy one is the one whose earning capacity is barren.
* * *
Some of them said: "the poor" is among the Muslims, and "the needy" is among the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb).
* Mention of who said that:
16835 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: ʿUmar ibn Nāfiʿ related to us, saying: I heard ʿIkrima concerning his statement: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy), he said: do not call the poor among the Muslims "needy"; the "needy" are only the needy among the People of the Book.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The most correct of these statements, in my view, is the statement of the one who said: "the poor" is the one who has poverty or need, and who, despite his need, refrains from begging from the people and from humbling himself before them — in this place; and "the needy" is the needy one who humbles himself before the people by begging from them.
We have only said that it is so — even though both groups are given alms solely on the grounds of poverty and need, and not on the grounds of the humiliation and the begging — because of the consensus (ijmāʿ) of all the people of knowledge that "the needy" is given from the obligatory alms only on the grounds of poverty, and that the meaning of "maskanah" (neediness) among the Arabs is humiliation, as Allah, whose praise is great, said: وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ وَالْمَسْكَنَةُ (And humiliation and neediness were laid upon them) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 61] — by which He means lowliness and humiliation, not poverty. Since Allah, whose praise is great, classified a group to whom He assigned a share of the obligatory alms on the grounds of poverty, and made them into two kinds, it is known that each kind of them is other than the other. And since that is so, there is no doubt that the one to whom it is assigned under the name of "the poor" is other than the one to whom it is assigned under the name of poverty and "neediness." The poor one to whom that is given under the name of absolute poverty is the one in whom there is no neediness. And the one to whom it is given under the name of neediness and poverty is the one who, along with his poverty, also joins neediness, that is, the humiliation through asking and begging.
= So the interpretation of the statement, since that is its meaning: indeed, the alms are for the poor: for the one among them who refrains and does not beg, and for the one among them who humbles himself and begs.
* * *
There has been related from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a tradition that accords with what we have said about this.
16836 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Sharīk ibn Abī Namir, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The needy one is not the one who is sent away with a morsel or two, or a date or two; the needy one is only the one who refrains! Recite, if you wish: لا يَسْأَلُونَ النَّاسَ إِلْحَافًا (They do not ask the people with insistence) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 273]."
The meaning of his statement ﷺ "the needy one is only the one who refrains" accords with the way the usage of the people runs in naming the people of poverty as "needy ones" (masākīn), not in the sense of distinguishing the needy one from the poor one.
And what indicates that this is so is that he ﷺ, in support, derived his statement from the word of Allah: recite, if you wish: لا يَسْأَلُونَ النَّاسَ إِلْحَافًا (They do not ask the people with insistence) — and that occurs in the description of those whom Allah mentioned first and whom He described with poverty, for He said: لِلْفُقَرَاءِ الَّذِينَ أُحْصِرُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ ضَرْبًا فِي الأَرْضِ يَحْسَبُهُمُ الْجَاهِلُ أَغْنِيَاءَ مِنَ التَّعَفُّفِ تَعْرِفُهُمْ بِسِيمَاهُمْ لا يَسْأَلُونَ النَّاسَ إِلْحَافًا (For the poor who have been restricted in the way of Allah, unable to travel about in the land; the ignorant one supposes them to be rich because of their self-restraint; you recognize them by their mark; they do not ask the people with insistence) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 273].
* * *
His statement: (and those employed to collect them) — they are the collectors who collect the alms from those who owe them and place them with those who are entitled to them; they receive that on account of the collection, whether they be rich or poor.
* * *
And as for what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
16837 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Maʿqil ibn ʿUbaydillāh related to us, saying: I asked az-Zuhrī about "those employed to collect them," and he said: the collectors.
16838 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (and those employed to collect them), he said: the collectors who gather them and exert themselves for it.
16839 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: (and those employed to collect them): the one who works with it.
* * *
Then the people of interpretation differed concerning the amount that is given of it to the employed worker.
Some of them said: an eighth of it is given to him.
* Mention of who said that:
16840 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥumayd ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: for those employed to collect them is the eighth part of the alms.
16841 — It was related to me on the authority of Muslim ibn Khālid, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his statement: (and those employed to collect them), he said: the workers eat of the eighth share.
* * *
Others said: rather, he is given according to the measure of his labor.
* Mention of who said that:
16842 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAṭāʾ related to us, on the authority of al-Akhḍar ibn ʿAjlān, he said: ʿAṭāʾ ibn Zuhayr al-ʿĀmirī related to us, on the authority of his father: that he met ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ and asked him about the alms: for which property is it? He said: the property of the lame, the one-eyed, the blind, and everyone whose journey is cut off [who is stranded while traveling]. He said to him: indeed, the workers and the warriors (mujāhidūn) have a right! He said: indeed, the warriors are people for whom it is permitted, and the employed workers [receive] according to the measure of their labor. Then he said: the alms are not lawful for a rich person, nor for one who is strong and sound.
16843 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: for the employed worker there is [something], if he works sincerely; and ʿUmar, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, nor did those others give the worker the eighth part, but they fixed for him [a compensation] according to the measure of his labor.
16844 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: (and those employed to collect them), he said: it used to be given to the workers.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The most correct of the statements about this is the statement of the one who said: the employed worker is given according to the measure of his labor and the wage that the like of him is due.
We have only said that this is the most correct because Allah, whose praise is great, did not divide the alms of the properties over the eight categories into eight shares; He only made His creatures aware thereby that the alms will not exceed these eight categories to others. And since that is so — as we shall clarify later and as we have clarified in another place — it is known that whoever receives a right thereof receives only according to the measure of the effort of the one given [the task] therein. And since that is so, and the employed worker is given alms only for his labor, not for the need that is removed by the gift, it is known that what He has given him thereof is only a compensation for his effort and labor, and that this is only an amount that he earns as compensation for his labor, which is not removed by the gift, but is only removed by dismissal [from his office].
* * *
As for "those whose hearts are to be won over" (al-muʾallafa qulūbuhum): they were people who were won over for Islam, among those whose support was not firm, in order to set right thereby their disposition and that of their tribe, such as Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb, ʿUyayna ibn Badr, al-Aqraʿ ibn Ḥābis, and their like among the chiefs of the tribes.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
16845 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement: (and those whose hearts are to be won over), they were people who came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ after they had converted to Islam, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to assign them a small gift from the alms. When he then gave them from the alms and they obtained something good from it, they would say: this is a good religion! And if it were otherwise, they would revile it and abandon it.
16846 — Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr: that "those whose hearts are to be won over" were — from the Banū Umayya: Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb; from the Banū Makhzūm: al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām and ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Yarbūʿ; from the Banū Jumaḥ: Ṣafwān ibn Umayya; from the Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy: Suhayl ibn ʿAmr and Ḥuwayṭib ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā; from the Banū Asad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā: Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām; from the Banū Hāshim: Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib; from the Banū Fazāra: ʿUyayna ibn Ḥiṣn ibn Badr; from the Banū Tamīm: al-Aqraʿ ibn Ḥābis; from the Banū Naṣr: Mālik ibn ʿAwf; from the Banū Sulaym: al-ʿAbbās ibn Mirdās; and from Thaqīf: al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ḥāritha. The Prophet ﷺ gave each of them a hundred she-camels, except ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Yarbūʿ and Ḥuwayṭib ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā, for to each of them he gave fifty.
16847 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of az-Zuhrī, who said: Ṣafwān ibn Umayya said: indeed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave to me, while he was the most hated of people to me, and he did not cease to give to me until he truly became the most beloved of people to me.
16848 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: people whom he used to win over for himself with the gift: ʿUyayna ibn Badr and who was with him.
16849 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAbd aṣ-Ṣamad ibn ʿAbd al-Wārith related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: (and those whose hearts are to be won over): those who are won over for Islam.
16850 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: as for "those whose hearts are to be won over," they were people from the bedouins and others, whom the prophet of Allah ﷺ used to win over for himself with the gift so that they would believe.
16851 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Maʿqil ibn ʿUbaydillāh related to us, saying: I asked az-Zuhrī about his statement: (and those whose hearts are to be won over), and he said: whoever converts from a Jew or a Christian. I said: even if he is rich? He said: even if he is rich.
16852 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Maʿqil ibn ʿUbaydillāh al-Jazarī related to us, on the authority of az-Zuhrī: (and those whose hearts are to be won over), he said: whoever is a Jew or a Christian.
Then the people of knowledge differed concerning whether or not "those whose hearts are to be won over" exist in the present day, and whether anyone is given from the alms today in order to be won over for Islam.
Some of them said: "those whose hearts are to be won over" has lapsed in the present day, and no one has a share in the obligatory alms except whoever has need of it, and the way of Allah, or an employed worker for it.
* Mention of who said that:
16853 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: (and those whose hearts are to be won over), he said: as for "those whose hearts are to be won over," that does not exist in the present day.
16854 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir, who said: there remains today among the people none of "those whose hearts are to be won over"; they were only in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
16855 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā related to us, on the authority of Ḥabbān ibn Abī Jabala, who said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with him, said — when ʿUyayna ibn Ḥiṣn had come to him: الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ (The truth is from your Lord; so whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve) [Surah Al-Kahf: 29], that is to say: there are today no [people] whose hearts are to be won over.
16856 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Mubārak related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, who said: there are today no [people] whose hearts are to be won over.
16857 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir, who said: "those whose hearts are to be won over" were only in the time of the Prophet ﷺ; and when Abū Bakr, may the mercy of Allah the Exalted be upon him, held authority, the [conciliatory] gifts ceased.
* * *
Others said: "those whose hearts are to be won over" [exists] in every age, and their right in the alms [remains].
* Mention of who said that:
16858 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, who said: among the people there are today [people] whose hearts are to be won over.
16859 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, the like of it.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct statement about this, in my view, is: that Allah instituted the alms for two purposes. One is: relieving the want of the Muslims, and the other: supporting and strengthening Islam. So whatever serves to support Islam and to strengthen its means, that is given to both the rich and the poor, because it is not given to the one who receives it on account of his need for it, but is given only as support for the religion. That is like what is given to the one who receives it for the jihād in the way of Allah, for that is given, whether he be rich or poor, for the campaign, not to relieve his want. So too is it with "those whose hearts are to be won over": that is given to them even though they be rich, in order, by giving it to them, to set right the affair of Islam and to pursue its strengthening and reinforcement. And the Prophet ﷺ gave to those of "those whose hearts are to be won over" to whom he gave, after Allah had granted him the victories, Islam had spread, and its people had become mighty. So there is no argument for the one who argues by saying: "today no one is won over for Islam, because its people protect themselves by their numbers against whoever attacks them" — while the Prophet ﷺ gave to those of them to whom he gave in the condition that I have described.
* * *
As for His statement (and for [the freeing of] the slaves, fī ar-riqāb): the people of interpretation differed concerning its meaning.
Some of them said — and they constitute the great majority: they are the contract-slaves (al-mukātabūn); they are given from it for the freeing of their necks [their freedom].
* Mention of who said that:
16860 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn Dīnār, on the authority of al-Ḥusayn: that a contract-slave (mukātab) stood up before Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, while he was addressing the people on Friday, and said to him: O emir, urge the people on my behalf! Then Abū Mūsā urged them on his behalf, and the people threw to him a turban, a cloak, and a ring, until they had thrown a great quantity of goods. When Abū Mūsā saw what had been thrown to him, he said: gather it! It was gathered, and then he gave the order concerning it and it was sold. He gave the contract-slave [the amount of] his manumission contract, and then gave the surplus for [the freeing of] slaves, and did not return it to the people, and said: it was given to the people only for [the freeing of] slaves.
16861 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Maʿqil ibn ʿUbaydillāh related to us, saying: I asked az-Zuhrī about his statement: (and for the slaves), he said: the contract-slaves.
16862 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his statement: (and for the slaves), he said: the contract-slave.
16863 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Sahl ibn Yūsuf related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: (and for the slaves), he said: they are the contract-slaves.
* * *
And it has been related from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: there is no objection that the slave (raqaba) be freed from the zakāh.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The most correct statement about this, in my view, is the statement of the one who said: "by the slaves in this place the contract-slaves are meant," because of the consensus of the authoritative proof (ḥujja) about that. For Allah made the zakāh an obligatory right, imposed upon the one upon whose property He made it obligatory, that he discharge it therefrom, without any benefit of worldly goods or any countervalue returning to him. But whoever frees a slave thereby receives the clientage (walāʾ) of the one he has freed, and that is a benefit that returns to him from that [zakāh].
* * *
As for "the debtors" (al-ghārimūn): they are those who incurred debts without it being in disobedience to Allah, and who then found no means of repayment, neither in cash nor in goods.
* * *
And what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
16864 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn al-Aswad, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: "the debtors" are those whose house has burned down, or who are struck by the flood so that their property is lost, and who go into debt for their family — this one belongs to the debtors.
16865 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Razzāq informed us, saying: ath-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn al-Aswad, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his statement: (and the debtors), he said: whoever, whose house has burned down, and the flood has carried off his property, and who goes into debt for his family.
16866 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, who said: "the debtors" are those who incur debts without extravagance; it behooves the imam that he discharge [the debts] for them from the treasury (bayt al-māl).
16867 — ...... he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Maʿqil ibn ʿUbaydillāh related to us, saying: we asked az-Zuhrī about "the debtors," he said: the people with debts.
16868 — ...... he said: Maʿqil related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Karīm, who said: a servant of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz who served him for twenty years related to me, saying: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz wrote: that the debtors should be given. Aḥmad said: it is my strongest supposition: from the alms.
16869 — ...... he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, who said: "the debtors" are those who incur debts without extravagance.
16870 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: as for "the debtors," they are people who have swallowed up debts without poverty [through extravagance], without squandering, and without corruption.
16871 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "the debtor" is the one upon whom the debt comes.
16872 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn al-Aswad, on the authority of Mujāhid: (and the debtors), he said: that is the one whose property the flood and the fire carry off, and who goes into debt for his family.
16873 — ...... he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, who said: the one who incurs debt without corruption.
16874 — ...... he said: my father related to me, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, who said: "the debtors" are those who incur debts without corruption; it behooves the imam that he discharge [the debts] for them.
16875 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn al-Aswad, on the authority of Mujāhid: they are people who have been ridden by debts [overwhelmed] without corruption and without extravagance, so Allah assigned them a share in this verse.
* * *
As for His statement (and for the way of Allah, wa-fī sabīli-llāh): He means by it: and in expenditure for the support of the religion of Allah, His path, and His legislation which He has established for His servants, through the combatting (qitāl) of His enemies — and that is the campaign (ghazw) against the disbelievers (kuffār).
* * *
And what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
16876 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his statement: (and for the way of Allah), he said: the warrior (ghāzī) in the way of Allah.
16877 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, who said: The Prophet ﷺ said: "The alms are not lawful for a rich person, except for five: a man who is employed with it, or a man who has bought it with his own property, or [for the one who fights] in the way of Allah, or the wayfarer, or a man who had a neighbor who gave alms with it and then gave it to him as a gift."
16878 — ...... he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Laylā, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, who said: The alms are not lawful for a rich person, except for three: [for the one who fights] in the way of Allah, or the wayfarer, or a man who had a neighbor who gave alms with it and then gave it to him as a gift.
* * *
As for His statement (and the wayfarer, wa-bni s-sabīl): that is the traveler who journeys from one land to another.
* * *
And "as-sabīl" is the road; and the traveler upon it is called "ibn as-sabīl" (son of the road), on account of his continual abiding upon it, as the poet said:
I am the son of war; she raised me as a child until I grew grey and my peers grew old.
And so the Arabs do: they name that which continually keeps to a matter and is known by it, its "son."
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have said.
* Mention of who said that:
16879 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, who said: "the wayfarer" is the one who journeys from one land to another.
16880 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Mandal related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: (and the wayfarer), he said: the wayfarer has a right to the zakāh, even if he is rich, when his [journey] is cut off [he is stranded].
16881 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Maʿqil ibn ʿUbaydillāh related to us, saying: I asked az-Zuhrī about "the wayfarer," he said: the wayfarer comes to me while he is needy. I said: and if he is rich? He said: even if he is rich.
16882 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (and the wayfarer), the guest; a right has been established for him therein.
16883 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: [Ibn Zayd] said: "the wayfarer" is the traveler, whether he be rich or poor, when his travel-provision has been struck, or lost, or something has happened to it, or he has nothing with him — then his right is obligatory.
16884 — Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk: that he said concerning the rich person when he travels and becomes needy on his journey: he said: he takes from the zakāh.
16885 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, who said: "the wayfarer" is the one who journeys from one land to another.
* * *
His statement: (as an obligation from Allah, farīḍatan mina-llāh) — the Exalted, whose praise is great, says: an apportionment (qasm) that Allah has assigned to them, and which He has made obligatory for them in the properties of the possessors. (And Allah is All-Knowing) of the interests of His creatures in what He has prescribed for them and in other matters; nothing remains hidden from Him. So on the basis of knowledge on His part He has prescribed what He has prescribed of the alms, and on the basis of [knowledge] of the interest that is therein. (All-Wise) in His governance of His creatures; into His governance no deficiency enters.
The people of knowledge differed concerning the manner of distribution of the alms which Allah has mentioned in this verse, and whether for each category of the eight categories therein a right is obligatory, or whether that is up to the possessor of the property. And whoever takes upon himself the distribution of it: whether it is permitted to him to give all of it to whomever he wills among the eight categories.
The generality of the people of knowledge said: it is up to the one who takes upon himself the distribution to place it in whichever of the eight categories he wills. Allah mentioned the eight categories in the verse only in order thereby to make His creatures aware that the alms do not leave these eight categories to others — not in order to make the distribution of it among the eight categories that He has mentioned obligatory.
* Mention of who said that:
16886 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Hārūn related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāt, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Zirr ibn Ḥubaysh, on the authority of Ḥudhayfa, concerning his statement: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy and those employed to collect them), he said: if you wish, you place it in one category, or two categories, or three.
16887 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj, on the authority of al-Minhāl, on the authority of Zirr, on the authority of Ḥudhayfa, who said: when you place it in one category, it suffices for you.
16888 — ...... he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿUmar: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor), he said: whichever category of these you give, it suffices for you.
16889 — ...... he said: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor), the verse, he said: if you place it in one category of these categories, it suffices for you. But if I were to look at a household of Muslims that is poor and refrains [from begging] and assist them with it, that would be dearer to me.
16890 — ...... he said: Jarīr informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy ... and the wayfarer), whichever category of these categories you give, it suffices for you.
16891 — ...... he said: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, the like of it.
16892 — ...... he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy and those employed to collect them), he said: this is only something that He has made known; so whichever category of these categories you give, it suffices for you.
16893 — ...... he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor), he said: in whichever of these categories you place it, it suffices for you.
16894 — ...... he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn as-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: when you place it in one category of what Allah has mentioned, it suffices for you.
16895 — ...... he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar ar-Rāzī, on the authority of ar-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, who said: when you place it in one category of what Allah has mentioned, it suffices for you.
16896 — ...... he said: Khālid ibn Ḥayyān Abū Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar ibn Burqān, on the authority of Maymūn ibn Mihrān: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor), he said: when you place it in one category of these, it suffices for you.
16897 — ...... he said: Muḥammad ibn Bishr related to us, on the authority of Masʿūd, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: (Indeed, the alms are for the poor and the needy), the verse, he said: He made known to the people who they are.
16898 — ...... he said: Ḥafṣ related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿUmar: that he used to take the obligatory share in the alms and place it in one category.
* * *
And some of the later [scholars] used to say: when the possessor of the property himself takes upon himself the distribution of it, he is obliged to place it in six categories, and that because "those whose hearts are to be won over," according to him, have disappeared, and because the share of the employed workers lapses by his distributing it himself. And he claims that it does not suffice him to give to fewer than three persons from each category. And he used to say: if the imam takes upon himself the distribution of it, he is obliged to distribute it over seven categories; anything other than that does not suffice, according to him.
