Is It Permissible to Give Zakāh to a Disbeliever?

Shumara al-Sunnah, Jhelum

✿ Question:​

Can Zakāh be given to a disbeliever (kāfir)?

✿ Answer:​

It is not permissible to give Zakāh to a disbeliever.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed Muʿādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه when sending him to Yemen:
"Invite them to testify that there is no deity except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah. If they accept that, inform them that Allah has obligated upon them five prayers during the day and night. If they comply with that, then inform them that Allah has obligated a charity (Zakāh) in their wealth, which is taken from their rich and returned to their poor."
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1395, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 19]

✿ Scholarly Consensus:​

➊ Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله stated:
"There is consensus among scholars that the dhimmī (non-Muslim living under Muslim protection) is not to be given anything from the Zakāh of wealth."
[Al-Ijmāʿ, p. 118]


➋ Imām Ibn Qudāmah al-Maqdisī رحمه الله wrote:
"There is no known disagreement among scholars that Zakāh of wealth is not to be given to a disbeliever or a slave."
[Al-Mughnī: 2/487]

✿ Conclusion:​

It is unanimously agreed upon by Islamic scholars that Zakāh is exclusively for the poor and needy among Muslims. Non-Muslims are not eligible to receive it, as clearly indicated by the instructions of the Prophet ﷺ and the consensus of the Ummah.