Chapter on Categories Upon Whom Zakat is Obligatory

Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from Ibn Abi Umayr, from Umar ibn Udaynah, from Zurara, from Abd al-Karim ibn Utbah al-Hashimi, from Abu Abdullah Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq عليه السلام who said: “The Messenger of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, used to distribute the charity of the Bedouins among the Bedouins and the charity of the city dwellers among the city dwellers. He would not divide it equally among them but rather distributed it according to the number of people present and as he saw fit. There was no fixed measure in this regard.”