Short answer
Yes, if the student is eligible. Zakat can pay a poor student's fees, books, travel and living costs, given to the student or paid to the school on their behalf with their permission. It cannot fund the school itself: buildings, teachers' salaries, or scholarships for students who are not eligible.
Zakat given to a poor student, or used to pay his fees at his request, is valid. The student must be eligible: Muslim, not of Banu Hashim, not owning the nisab beyond needs and debts, and not your own child; a minor whose father is wealthy cannot receive zakat.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Zakat goes to people, and a student in need is a person in need. The Quran gives a special place to the poor who are tied up in the cause of Allah and cannot move about to earn (2:273). Scholars note that this described the poor Companions of the Suffa, who stayed by the Prophet's ﷺ masjid to learn. Some Hanafi texts also list students of knowledge under the share for the cause of Allah.
Zakat can pay for:
- Tuition and exam fees, paid to the school or university with the student's permission.
- Books, a laptop and equipment that become the student's own.
- Rent, food and travel for a student living away from home.
- Debts the student has run up for basic needs.
Zakat cannot pay for:
- Building or running a school, madrasa or university.
- Teachers' salaries.
- A scholarship fund that sits unowned, or awards to students who are not eligible.
- Your own children's or grandchildren's fees (see zakat to family).
Check eligibility honestly. A university student with savings below the nisab and large fees due is usually eligible. A young child is judged by the father's wealth: if the father is well off, the child cannot receive zakat. A madrasa may collect zakat as the agent of its poor students and spend it on them (see zakat and the madrasa).
The four schools agree on this outline. See what zakat can be used for.
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.
Those held back from earning by a good cause are worthy recipients.
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.
Poor students fall under the poor and, in some Hanafi texts, the cause of Allah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1395
Sahih... تؤخذ من أغنيائهم وترد على فقرائهم ...
"It is taken from their rich and given back to their poor."
Zakat goes to the poor, students among them.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on the recipients, on fi sabil Allah. Mentions students of knowledge among those included in the share for the cause of Allah.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on those to whom zakat may be given. No zakat to the minor child of a wealthy man, or to one's own children.
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.