When giving Zakat, the giver is required to make a reasonable effort (taharri) to ascertain that the recipient is among those eligible to receive it, such as the poor and needy.

If, after exercising this due diligence, one gives Zakat to a person who they believe is poor, but it later becomes clear that the recipient was in fact wealthy, the Zakat is considered valid and the giver's obligation is fulfilled. They are not required to pay that portion of Zakat again. The sin falls upon the one who took the Zakat while not being entitled to it.

The basis for this ruling is the principle that actions are judged by intentions and that Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. The responsibility of the Zakat payer is to act based on the best information available to them and what is apparent of the person's situation.

This position is supported by the hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah in which a man resolved to give charity and, on three consecutive nights, unknowingly gave it to a thief, a prostitute, and a rich man. Each morning, the townspeople would gossip about the misplaced charity. The man would praise Allah and resolve to give again. Finally, he was told in a dream that his charity had been accepted, with the hope that it would cause the thief to become chaste, the prostitute to repent, and the rich man to take a lesson and give from his own wealth. This hadith demonstrates that the sincerity of the giver and their effort is what is judged, and if a mistake is made despite this, the charity is still accepted by Allah.