Among people
Zakat to a new Muslim
Updated 6 September 2026
Households want to celebrate a shahadah with money. Celebration can be sadaqah. Zakat has a thinner door.
Run the ordinary test first
Do they have zakatable wealth above nisab? Are they in debt they cannot meet? If yes to wealth and no to need, the kind gift is not from the 2.5% you already owe the poor.
The category people quote
One of the eight categories has been read, in some times and schools, as including people whose hearts are to be brought closer. Whether that still applies, and whether a comfortable new Muslim in your city is that person, is not a thing this site will settle. If you want to use that reading, ask someone who will look at the actual person — not a clip.
How to give if they are eligible
Quietly. Rent, a coat, a month of food. Not a public welcome pack with your logo on it. IslamHood is a household. We do not need the story.
Quick answers
- Is 'those whose hearts are to be reconciled' still used?
- Schools differ on whether that category still applies and to whom. IslamHood will not pick the school. Need is the test you can run without a debate club.
- Should I announce it at the mosque?
- No. A new Muslim does not owe you a story for your donation post.
- Can I buy them a Qur'an from zakat?
- A gift of a book can be sadaqah. Using zakat for materials is a question for someone you trust, not a slogan.
General information, not a fatwa. Where scholars differ, we try to say so. For your situation, ask a scholar you trust.