Zakat, while he is poor, and he might have forty sheep, or an estate that does not suffice him; is he to be given from charity? He said: Yes. And he mentioned the statement of 'Umar: 'Give to them, even if there were herds of camels for them...' (24). I said: Is this a (25) specific number or time? He said: I have not heard that. In the narration of Muhammad ibn al-Hakam, he said: If he has property from which he derives income (26), or an estate worth ten thousand or less or more, but it does not support him, he may take from Zakat. This is the opinion of Al-Shafi'i. The jurists (Ashab al-Ra'y) said: He is not permitted to take from it if he owns a Zakat-eligible nisab, because Zakat is due upon him, so it is not due to him, based on the report. Our argument is that he does not possess what makes him independent, nor is he able to earn what suffices him, so it is permissible for him to take from Zakat, just as if what he possessed (27) was not subject to Zakat. Also, because poverty is an expression of need; Allah the Exalted says: 'O people, you are the poor in need of Allah' (28), meaning: those in need of Him. The poet said:

So Lord, I am a believer in You, a worshiper, Acknowledging my sins, poor before You.

Another said:

And I am indeed in need of her kindness (29).

This person is in need, thus he is poor and not wealthy. Furthermore, if what he owned were not subject to Zakat, he would be poor, and there is no difference in fulfilling the need between the two types of property. Allah the Exalted has named those who own a ship...