Short answer
Yes, if the new Muslim is in need, like any other eligible Muslim, and many converts face real hardship. In the Hanafi school there is no longer a separate share for 'winning hearts', so a convert who is not poor does not receive zakat simply for being new. The other three schools keep that share in some cases.
The share of 'those whose hearts are to be reconciled' (al-mu'allafat qulubuhum) has lapsed, as the Companions agreed in the time of Abu Bakr. A new Muslim receives zakat on the same basis as anyone else: being poor, needy, in debt or a stranded traveller.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The share remains for new Muslims whose faith is still weak, and for leaders whose Islam may bring others; they may be given it even if they are not poor.
- Hanbali
- The share remains and may be given when there is a real need for it.
- Maliki
- The share remains in the relied-upon view, and may be given when there is a need to draw people to Islam or strengthen them in it.
Explanation
Converts often pay a price for their faith. Some lose family support, a home or a job, and many start again with little. A new Muslim in that situation is poor or needy, and your zakat to them is valid and among the best uses of it.
The Quran also names a category of people "whose hearts are to be brought together", and in the Prophet's time some were given wealth to bring them to Islam or keep them firm. The Hanafi school holds that this share ended after his death: Umar stopped payments to some chiefs because Islam no longer needed to win them over, and the Companions agreed. The verse remains, but the reason for that share no longer applies. So in the Hanafi school a convert who is comfortably off does not receive zakat for being new.
In practice:
- Give zakat to converts in need directly, or through a convert support organisation that keeps a separate zakat fund.
- General services for all new Muslims, such as classes, events or welcome packs, should be paid from sadaqah, not zakat.
- Welcome every new Muslim with gifts, meals and friendship whatever their means.
For more on support for converts, see the new Muslim guide.
The evidence
Quran, Surah At-Tawba 9:60
۞ إِنَّمَا ٱلصَّدَقَٰتُ لِلْفُقَرَآءِ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينِ وَٱلْعَٰمِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَٱلْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَٱلْغَٰرِمِينَ وَفِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ ۖ فَرِيضَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ ﴿٦٠﴾
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
The verse names this group; the schools differ on whether the share continues.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on those to whom zakat may and may not be paid. The share of the mu'allafa has lapsed, by the agreement of the Companions.
- al-Majmu', Kitab Qasm al-Sadaqat, on the mu'allafa. The Shafi'i view that the share continues for certain new Muslims.
- al-Mughni, Kitab al-Zakat, on the mu'allafa. The Hanbali view that the share continues when needed.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Chapter on the recipients of zakat. The Maliki view that the share of the mu'allafa remains.
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.