Title: Giving Zaka'h to Wives and Other Blood Relatives Question: Can I give Zaka'h to close relatives i.e. parents, wife, brother, sister, children, etc? Answer: Quoting from Moiz Amjad: Zaka'h , according to the Qur'an ( Al-Tawbah 9:60), should/can be spent on the following heads: Fuqaraa and Masakeen i.e. for the poor and the needy; `aamileen `alaihaa i.e. on the people appointed for the collection and distribution of Zaka'h; Al-Mo'allafah Quloobohum i.e. to win the loyalties of those who have the potential of becoming a danger for the Islamic state and thereby to soften their hearts toward Islam; Riqaab wal-Ghaarimeen: i.e. in freeing of slaves, bondsman and those under a financial burden due to any reason; Sabeel Allah i.e. in all projects undertaken for the well being, promotion and security of Islam and the Muslims; Ibn al-Sabeel i.e. in projects undertaken for the welfare and benefit of the wayfarers. In principal any one who fulfils one of the above is eligible for receiving Zakah and being a relative or not does not change it. In fact, it is better to pay Zakah to those who are nearer. Accordingly, if there is no concern that a relative might become embarrassed, it is much better to pay Zakah to them rather than to those who are not as close. As the saying goes: "a light that is needed in a house should not be used in a mosque". There is only one issue here and that is about the examples you mentioned. Typically, a wife and small children of a person are regarded as his dependants. Under this assumption, paying Zakah to wife and dependants is an inconsistent concept. One cannot pay charity to himself. Similarly, I would like to think that if parents of a person are in such bad situation that they become eligible for Zakah , then it will be their children's duty to bring their parents out of this situation by making them their dependants and those who are not in need of Zakah , rather than paying them Zakah and categorising them as people who are eligible for Zakah . Abdullah Rahim