Short answer
The same people who can receive zakat: poor and needy Muslims who do not own the nisab, and not your own parents, children or spouse, or a Sayyid. It should reach them before the Eid prayer. In the Hanafi school one person's fitrana may be split, or several may go to one family. Help non-Muslims from other sadaqah.
Sadaqat al-fitr goes to the recipients of zakat, mainly the poor, and must be handed into their ownership. Hanafi books record a difference over giving it to a non-Muslim: Abu Hanifa and Muhammad allowed it, Abu Yusuf did not, and some later texts give the fatwa on Abu Yusuf's view, so it is given to Muslims.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- It goes to the zakat groups; non-Muslims may not receive it.
- Maliki
- It goes only to the poor and needy among Muslims, not to the other zakat groups.
- Hanbali
- It goes to the zakat groups; non-Muslims may not receive it.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ made zakat al-fitr food for the poor, so that no Muslim family goes without on Eid. Its recipients are the same as for zakat, with the poor and needy first.
Who can receive it:
- Muslims who do not own the nisab beyond their basic needs and debts.
- Your brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and other relatives, if they are eligible.
Who cannot:
- Your parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, husband or wife (see zakat to family).
- Anyone who owns the nisab beyond their needs.
- Sayyids and others of Banu Hashim (see zakat to a Sayyid).
- A masjid, school or project, since no person owns it (see zakat and the masjid).
The Hanafi school is flexible about how it is shared. You may give one person's fitrana to several poor people, or the whole family's fitrana to one poor family. Paying it to your masjid's fitrana collection is fine: the masjid acts as your agent and should pass it on before Eid (see when to pay zakat al-fitr).
On non-Muslims, the Hanafi imams differed, as noted above, and the other schools do not allow it. Give your fitrana to poor Muslims, and help non-Muslim neighbours from your voluntary sadaqah (see zakat to non-Muslims). Work out the amount with the zakat al-fitr calculator.
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.
Zakat al-fitr goes to the same recipients as zakat.
Sunan Abi Dawud 1609
Graded hasan... طهرة للصائم من اللغو والرفث وطعمة للمساكين ...
"A purification for the fasting person from idle and obscene talk, and food for the poor."
Zakat al-fitr is meant for the poor.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on the recipients (bab al-masrif). Wajib sadaqat other than zakat to a non-Muslim: allowed by Abu Hanifa and Muhammad, not by Abu Yusuf, with a fatwa reported on his view.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on sadaqat al-fitr. Its recipients are those of zakat.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab Zakat al-Fitr. The Maliki rule that it goes only to the poor.
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.