Recent Interpretations of the Laws of Zakāt with Regard to People with Disabilities: A Comparison with Classical Fiqh

Zakat is considered the earliest social solidarity system that does not depend on voluntary charity but on orderly periodic government support. In this article I trace interpretations of the zakat laws on people with disabilities in the past and the present in respect of two main questions: is a disabled person subject to zakat taxation? and does a disabled person qualify as a beneficiary of funds collected through the zakat taxation? The main conclusions are that if and when the economic situation of people with disabilities is similar to that of the healthy, they are subject to taxation. People with disabilities become beneficiaries of zakat funds only when they are “poor,” “needy,” and unable to support themselves, but never only because of the disability.