Outside of ritual matters, though, the disappearance of the original cause for some scriptural ruling proved more complicated. The Qur’an, for example, specifies eight groups who are eligible to receive the charitable tithe (Zakat) collected annually from Muslims as part of their religious obligation: the indigent, the poor, those in bondage or debt, travelers, those laboring in God’s path, workers compensated for collecting and dispensing the Zakat and ‘those whose hearts are to be reconciled’ (al-mu’allafa qulubuhum) (9:60).
