Short answer
No. In the Hanafi school, and in the mainstream view of the other schools, zakat may only be given to eligible Muslims. You can and should help needy non-Muslims with voluntary sadaqah and other charity, which is rewarded.
Zakat paid to a non-Muslim is not valid. Voluntary sadaqah to non-Muslims who are not at war with Muslims is permitted and rewarded.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- The share for those whose hearts are to be won still stands, and it may be given to a non-Muslim to draw him to Islam.
- Hanbali
- Zakat may be given to a non-Muslim under the share for those whose hearts are to be brought together (al-mu'allafa qulubuhum), when the Muslim authority sees a benefit in it.
Explanation
When the Prophet ﷺ sent Mu'adh to Yemen, he described zakat as taken from the rich among the Muslims and returned to the poor among them. The jurists of all four schools understood from this that zakat is a duty owed between Muslims and goes to eligible Muslim recipients.
The one place the schools part ways is the zakat share in verse 9:60 for those whose hearts are to be brought together. In the Prophet's time some of it was given to non-Muslim leaders to win them over. The Hanafis hold that this use ended once Islam was strong, as the Companions decided in the time of Abu Bakr and Umar. The Hanbalis hold that the share remains, for the Muslim authority to use when there is a real benefit. It is not something an individual hands out from his own zakat.
Charity to non-Muslims outside zakat is a different matter and is encouraged. Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakr, asked whether she should be kind to her mother, who was not Muslim, and the Prophet ﷺ told her to keep ties with her. The Quran says Allah does not forbid kindness and justice toward those who are not fighting Muslims. Food banks, disaster relief and help for a non-Muslim neighbour are all good uses of sadaqah.
If you give through a charity that helps everyone, ask it to keep your zakat in a fund for eligible Muslims, and give your sadaqah to its general work. See who can receive zakat and zakat vs sadaqah.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Mumtahana 60:8
لَّا يَنْهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَٰتِلُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُقْسِطِينَ ﴿٨﴾
Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.
Kindness and charity toward peaceful non-Muslims is allowed.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1395
Sahih... تؤخذ من أغنيائهم وترد على فقرائهم ...
"It is taken from their rich and given back to their poor."
Zakat circulates within the Muslim community, from its rich to its poor.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2620
Sahih... أفأصل أمي قال نعم صلي أمك ...
"Yes, keep ties with your mother."
Said to Asma about her non-Muslim mother, showing that kindness and gifts to non-Muslim relatives are allowed.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on those to whom zakat may and may not be paid. Zakat may not be paid to a non-Muslim; other charity may be.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on the recipients, on the share of al-mu'allafa qulubuhum. The Hanafi view that this share has lapsed.
- al-Mughni, Kitab al-Zakat, on the share of al-mu'allafa qulubuhum. The Hanbali view that the share remains.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.