Preferences for Relatives and Those of Them to Whom Zakat Cannot Be Paid

1. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Ali ibn al-Hakam from ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Utbah from Ishaq ibn ‘Ammar who has said the following: “I once said to abu al-Hassan, Musa عليه السلام, that I pay Zakat to my relatives and give preference to certain ones among them over the others when it is time to pay Zakat. He (the Imam) asked, ’Are they deserving beneficiaries?’ I replied, ‘Yes, they deserve.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘They are better than others, you should give it to them.’ I then asked, ‘Who among them is the one to whom I must not pay as Zakat?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘They are your father and mother.’ I then said, ‘My father and mother!’ He (the Imam) said, ‘The parents and children.’”