Zakat, as one of the most significant religious obligations in Islamic law, has consistently attracted the attention of jurists, with the prevailing view affirming its strictly legal and devotional character. However, Ayatollah Montazeri was the first among Shiʿi scholars to raise the possibility that the ruling on zakat might be of a Wilāyah (governance-based) nature—a proposition which, if accepted, carries substantial theoretical and practical implications for Islamic governmental jurisprudence and the management of communal financial resources. Employing a content-analysis methodology, this study examines Montazeri’s perspective, outlining both the supporting arguments and the principal challenges confronting this interpretation. The findings suggest that, given Montazeri’s assumptions and jurisprudential foundations, his claim can be partially substantiated. Nevertheless, such substantiation remains conditional upon resolving two critical issues: first, the numerous traditions that restrict zakat to nine specific categories; and second, the inherently devotional dimension of zakat, which complicates its classification as a governance-based ruling.