Who can receive zakat? The 8 categories
You have worked out your zakat. Then a second question comes: who should it go to? The Quran answers in one verse. It names 8 groups, and only these 8.
Short answer: Quran 9:60 names 8 groups who may receive zakat: the poor, the needy, zakat workers, people whose hearts are being won over, people in bondage, people in debt, the cause of God, and the stranded traveller. Classical jurists treat the list as complete. The schools differ on some details, shown below.
Want to know how much zakat is due on your savings first? Use the free zakat calculator. It runs on your device and sends nothing.
What does the verse say?
The verse is Quran 9:60. Its Arabic text and its meaning in our own words are at the end of this article.
The verse opens with the word innama, "only". That one word closes the list. Zakat goes to these groups and to no one else.
The 8 groups in plain words
| # | Quranic name | In plain words | A modern example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | الفقراء (al-fuqara') | The poor: people without enough for basic needs | A family that cannot pay rent or school fees |
| 2 | المساكين (al-masakin) | The needy: people with some income, but not enough | A worker whose wage does not cover food and rent |
| 3 | العاملين عليها (al-'amilin 'alayha) | People who collect and hand out zakat | Staff of an official zakat body. They are paid for their work, even if they are not poor. |
| 4 | المؤلفة قلوبهم (al-mu'allafati qulubuhum) | People whose hearts are being won over | Some zakat bodies have a budget to support new Muslims |
| 5 | في الرقاب (fi al-riqab) | Freeing people from bondage | Freeing slaves and helping those buying their freedom. The Hanbali school, and Ibn Habib among the Malikis, also include ransoming Muslim captives (Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni). Some modern writers apply it to victims of trafficking. That is a modern opinion, not a settled ruling. |
| 6 | الغارمين (al-gharimin) | People in debt who cannot repay | A family facing eviction over unpaid rent |
| 7 | في سبيل الله (fi sabilillah) | The cause of God | The most debated group. See the views below. |
| 8 | ابن السبيل (ibn al-sabil) | The stranded traveller | A traveller robbed abroad, or a worker stranded without a ticket home |
Where do the schools differ?
The list is agreed. Some details are not. We show the views side by side and do not choose between them.
| Question | View | Who holds it |
|---|---|---|
| Must every group get a share? | Spread zakat over all the groups that exist, where possible | Shafi'i school |
| All of it may go to one group, or even one person | Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools | |
| Who is worse off: the poor or the needy? | The poor (faqir) | Shafi'i and Hanbali schools |
| The needy (miskin) | Hanafi and Maliki schools | |
| Does group 4 still receive a share today? | No, the share ended after the Prophet's ﷺ time | Hanafi school |
| Yes, when needed, and it may include non-Muslims | Maliki school (main view, Khalil's Mukhtasar) and Hanbali school | |
| Yes, for Muslims only | Shafi'i school | |
| What does "the cause of God" cover? | Mainly volunteer fighters. The Hanafis add that the person must be poor; a report from Imam Ahmad also includes Hajj for a poor person | The classical view of the four schools |
| All public good work | A broad modern view (Muhammad Rashid Rida, Mahmud Shaltut) | |
| The core meaning, widened to non-military work such as education | A middle modern view (Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Fiqh al-Zakah) | |
| May zakat pay the debt of someone who has died? | No | Hanafi school |
| Yes | Some Maliki and Shafi'i scholars |
In practice, the poor and the needy may both receive zakat, so their order matters little. The classical comparisons of these views are in works such as Ibn Rushd's Bidayat al-Mujtahid and Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni, in their books on zakat.
For your own zakat, ask a scholar you trust or your country's official zakat body.
Who does not receive zakat?
Most jurists list these people:
- A person who is rich, by the measure of their school. Zakat workers are an exception: they are paid for work.
- A person who is strong and able to earn, when work is available.
- The giver's own parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren. The giver must support them anyway.
- A husband may not give his zakat to his wife (consensus reported by Ibn al-Mundhir). A wife giving her zakat to a poor husband: allowed by al-Shafi'i, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad and in one report from Ahmad (hadith of Zaynab, Sahih al-Bukhari 1466); not allowed by Abu Hanifa.
- The family of the Prophet ﷺ (Banu Hashim), in the well-known view.
Other relatives in need, such as brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts, may receive zakat. Whether a non-Muslim may receive the obligatory zakat is a separate question with more than one view. It needs its own article.
Does Mustahaqat hand out zakat?
No. Mustahaqat does not collect or pass on zakat or charity. We explain and calculate only.
One verse, 8 groups. The list is short on purpose: it keeps zakat pointed at people in need.
Read next
Work it out
The zakat calculator shows both nisab views side by side and keeps your figures on your device. Then see the official bodies on where to pay zakat.
Please note
This article explains zakat for general learning. It is not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar or your country's zakat authority. Mustahaqat does not collect or pass on zakat or charity.
هذا المقال للتعريف العام بالزكاة وليس فتوى. لحالتك الخاصة راجع عالماً مؤهلاً أو جهة الزكاة الرسمية في بلدك. موقع مستحقات لا يجمع الزكاة ولا الصدقات ولا يوصلها.
Compiled from cited sources; ask a scholar you trust for your own case. This is not a fatwa. Drafted with AI help and checked against the sources listed. Sami Adham is a professional name, not a scholar or mufti.
Quran cited
﴿۞ إِنَّمَا ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتُ لِلْفُقَرَآءِ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينِ وَٱلْعَـٰمِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَٱلْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَٱلْغَـٰرِمِينَ وَفِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ ۖ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ﴾ [9:60]Meaning (our own wording): The sadaqat (here: the obligatory zakat) are only for the poor, the needy, those who work on collecting and handing it out, those whose hearts are to be drawn together, freeing people from bondage, people in debt, the way of God, and the traveller cut off from home. It is a duty set by God, and God is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Sources
Corrections
- : Source review: fi al-riqab names the Hanbali school and Ibn Habib; fi sabilillah adds the Hanafi poverty condition and the report from Ahmad on Hajj; the mu'allafa share now shows all four schools; the spouse case shows both directions.