Wayfarer (ibn al-sabil)

ابن السبيل

The Kuwaiti encyclopedia defines sabil as the road, and ibn al-sabil as the traveller whose road has been cut off. The widest technical definition is one who is cut off from his property, whether he is outside his country, in it, or passing through it; some jurists add conditions tied to his eligibility as a recipient of zakat. The jurists agree that when a wayfarer wants to return to his home and has nothing to live on, he is given from zakat, booty and fay' according to his need, and nothing beyond that is lawful to him. On borrowing, the Hanafis regard it as preferable where it is possible; the Malikis make it obligatory if he is not poor in his own land; the Hanbalis and the Shafi'is, according to the accepted view, neither oblige it nor regard it as preferable. ^{1 2}