Short answer
No. In the Hanafi school, members of Banu Hashim, the family of the Prophet ﷺ known as Sayyids or Syeds, cannot receive zakat or other obligatory charity such as zakat al-fitr. Help them with gifts and voluntary sadaqah instead. The four schools agree in principle.
Zakat, zakat al-fitr, kaffarah and other wajib charity cannot be given to Banu Hashim: the families of Ali, Abbas, Ja'far, Aqil and al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib. Voluntary sadaqah and gifts to them are permitted, and helping a needy Sayyid from your own non-zakat money is a great virtue.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Banu al-Muttalib, the cousins of Banu Hashim, are also excluded from receiving zakat.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said that sadaqah is not fitting for the family of Muhammad, because it is the washings of people's wealth. He once took a date of charity out of the mouth of his grandson al-Hasan for this reason. The family was given a share of the khums (a fifth of war gains) instead, as the Quran sets out.
In the Hanafi school this covers Banu Hashim: the descendants of Ali (through Hasan and Husayn and his other children), Abbas, Ja'far, Aqil and al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib. In South Asia these families are often known as Sayyid or Syed, and sometimes Alavi, Hashmi, Abbasi or Jafri, though a family name alone does not prove lineage. The four schools agree in principle that zakat may not go to them.
A minority of later scholars in several schools allowed it in times of real hardship, because the khums share no longer reaches them. The relied-upon Hanafi position is still that it is not permitted.
This makes helping needy Sayyids from your other money all the more important. Gifts, sadaqah and support with bills or fees are all allowed and carry the added reward of honouring the Prophet's family. If you give zakat to someone after making a reasonable effort to check, and later learn they were a Sayyid, the Hanafi school counts it (see checking a recipient).
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Anfaal 8:41
۞ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُم مِّن شَىْءٍۢ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُۥ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ إِن كُنتُمْ ءَامَنتُم بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا يَوْمَ ٱلْفُرْقَانِ يَوْمَ ٱلْتَقَى ٱلْجَمْعَانِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌ ﴿٤١﴾
And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allah is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion - the day when the two armies met. And Allah, over all things, is competent.
The Prophet's family were given a share of the khums rather than of zakat.
Sahih Muslim 1072
Sahih... إن الصدقة لا تنبغي لآل محمد إنما هي أوساخ الناس ...
"Sadaqah is not fitting for the family of Muhammad: it is only the washings of people."
The direct basis for excluding the Prophet's family from zakat.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1491
Sahih... أما شعرت أنا لا نأكل الصدقة ...
"Do you not know that we do not eat sadaqah?"
Said to the young al-Hasan when he took a date from the charity pile.
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 Banu Hashim, and the families included are named.
- Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on the recipients, on Banu Hashim. The relied-upon position and the minority view noted.
- al-Mughni, Kitab al-Zakat, on giving zakat to Banu Hashim. The Hanbali agreement.
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.