Who qualifies as Ibn al-Sabil (the wayfarer), and what are the criteria for giving him Zakat?

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Ibn al-Sabil is the eighth category of Zakat recipients, and there is no dispute over their entitlement. Ibn al-Sabil is the traveler who lacks the means to return to his hometown, though he may be wealthy in his home city. He is given what he needs to return. This is the position of Qatadah, Malik, and the People of Ra'y. Al-Shafi'i holds that one intending to initiate travel to another city also qualifies, and both are given what is needed for departure and return because they intend travel for a permissible purpose, resembling the traveler passing through. We hold that Ibn al-Sabil is one who is constantly on the road, like 'the child of the night' (one frequently active at night). A resident in his own town is not on the road and does not acquire the status of a traveler until he actually travels. He is only given aid if he is a stranger, not one in his own abode. He is given aid because he is unable to reach his wealth and benefit from it, making the wealth effectively non-existent for him. If the Ibn al-Sabil is poor in his hometown, he receives aid for both his poverty and his status as a wayfarer, with the amount specifically for travel being what gets him to his home.