Ruling 1957 — Alms Tax (Zakat)

The receiver of zakat must be a Twelver (Ithnā ʿAsharī) Shia. If one gives zakat to a person he believes to be a Shia and later realises that he was not a Shia, then based on obligatory precaution, he must give zakat again even if he had made investigations about the person or he had relied upon something that was legally authoritative.