Pemaknaan Fi Sabilillah sebagai Penerima Zakat Fitrah dan Pola Penyalurannya: Studi Kasus Desa Sipaho Kecamatan Halongonan Kabupaten Padang Lawas Utara

Fi sabilillah is one of the eight asnaf entitled to receive zakat under Qur'an Surah At-Taubah verse 60, but its scope remains debated between classical and contemporary scholars. This study aims to analyze the interpretation of fi sabilillah by religious scholars in determining zakat fitrah recipients and the factors underlying changes in its distribution pattern in Desa Sipaho, Kecamatan Halongonan, Kabupaten Padang Lawas Utara. This empirical legal research employs a descriptive qualitative approach with a case study strategy. Primary data were obtained through interviews with eight informants consisting of five religious scholars, two zakat administrators, and one fi sabilillah recipient, while secondary data were obtained from relevant Islamic legal literature and previous studies. The findings indicate that the meaning of fi sabilillah has shifted from a status-based approach focusing on Islamic boarding school students toward a functional approach emphasizing religious activities, educational capacity, and community contributions. This shift was influenced by changing educational needs, the expansion of educational access, and considerations of community benefit (maslahah). The category was extended to public-school students in 2021 and Islamic higher-education students in 2023. The 2024 findings show that this broader interpretation continued to be applied in zakat distribution based on beneficiaries' educational and community-oriented activities. This interpretation is closer to Yusuf al-Qardhawi's contemporary view than the restrictive classical interpretation. The study concludes that the practice reflects contextualization of Islamic law, but requires objective and consistent criteria to maintain compliance with Islamic legal principles.