Among people
Zakat to a student
Updated 6 September 2026
Parents search this when a nephew asks for “zakat for uni.” The kind answer is not always yes.
When it can be yes
- They do not have zakatable wealth above nisab, and living costs are not covered.
- They are in debt for necessities, not for a lifestyle they can stop.
- You are not using zakat to buy a family status project.
When it is no
A student with a funded place, a car paid off, and savings sitting above nisab is not poor because lectures are tiring. Give sadaqah if you want to help. Do not relabel it.
How to give without a speech
Pay rent to the landlord, or put cash in their hand, if that is what the need is. Do not announce it in a family chat. If you cannot tell whether they are eligible, you are not ready to use zakat for this. Use the calculator on your own wealth first; their eligibility is a different sum.
Quick answers
- Does studying Islam make them eligible?
- Study is not an asnaf by itself. Need is. A well-funded student of anything is not eligible on the label.
- Can I pay their fees directly?
- Often yes if the student is eligible and the payment meets their need. Ask someone you trust if the case is a scholarship dressed as zakat.
- What about international students?
- Same test: wealth and need, not passport.
General information, not a fatwa. Where scholars differ, we try to say so. For your situation, ask a scholar you trust.