Short answer
Yes, if apart from their basic needs they do not own wealth worth the nisab. In the Hanafi school the home they live in, a car they need, furniture, clothes and work tools are not counted. Savings, gold, a second property and other things beyond need are counted, and if they reach the nisab the person cannot take zakat.
Zakat may be given to a Muslim who does not own the nisab in any kind of wealth, zakatable or not, beyond basic needs (hawa'ij asliyya) and debts. It may be accepted by such a person even if he is healthy and earning, though he should not ask for it.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Poverty is measured by need, not by the nisab: someone may receive zakat if what he owns and earns does not cover his needs, even if he owns the nisab. Someone able to earn enough through suitable work may not receive it as poor or needy.
- Hanbali
- Similar to the Shafi'i view: the test is whether a person has enough for his needs, and a strong person able to earn enough does not receive it.
- Maliki
- A person who does not own enough to live on for a year may receive zakat.
Explanation
Owning a home or a car does not make someone rich in the Hanafi school. These are basic needs: the house you live in, a car you use, furniture and appliances, clothes, a phone, and the tools or books of your work. However much they cost, they are not counted. So a family who own their home but cannot meet their bills may be eligible.
What is counted when checking whether someone may receive zakat:
- Cash, bank savings, gold, silver and investments.
- Things they own beyond need, even though the giver would not pay zakat on them: a second house they do not live in, a car nobody uses, or valuable goods they keep but do not need.
- Debts they owe that are due now are subtracted.
If what is left reaches the value of the nisab (the silver nisab, since it is a mix of assets), they are not eligible. If it is below that, they are. Receiving state benefits does not in itself stop someone from receiving zakat; the same test applies.
In the Hanafi school a healthy person who works but does not own the nisab may accept zakat. The hadith that charity is not lawful for a strong, able man is read by the Hanafis as forbidding him to ask for it. If you are unsure about someone, use the who can receive zakat checker.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:273
لِلْفُقَرَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أُحْصِرُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ ضَرْبًۭا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَحْسَبُهُمُ ٱلْجَاهِلُ أَغْنِيَآءَ مِنَ ٱلتَّعَفُّفِ تَعْرِفُهُم بِسِيمَٰهُمْ لَا يَسْـَٔلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ إِلْحَافًۭا ۗ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٧٣﴾
[Charity is] for the poor who have been restricted for the cause of Allah, unable to move about in the land. An ignorant [person] would think them self-sufficient because of their restraint, but you will know them by their [characteristic] sign. They do not ask people persistently [or at all]. And whatever you spend of good - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.
Some deserving poor look comfortable from the outside.
Sunan Abi Dawud 1634
Grading to be checked... لا تحل الصدقة لغني ولا لذي مرة سوي ...
"Charity is not lawful for a rich person, nor for one who is strong and sound."
The Hanafis take 'rich' to mean one who owns the nisab beyond needs, and read the second part as being about asking.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1395
Sahih... تؤخذ من أغنيائهم وترد على فقرائهم ...
"It is taken from their rich and given back to their poor."
Zakat moves from those who own the nisab to those who do not.
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 one who owns a nisab of any kind of wealth; it may be paid to one who owns less, even if he is healthy and earning.
- Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on the recipients. The house, furniture, clothes, transport and tools one needs are not counted.
- al-Mughni, Kitab al-Zakat, on the poor and the needy. The Hanbali test of sufficiency.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. 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.