The Ruling on Maintaining Ties with Disbelieving Relatives and Giving Them Charity

Question:
Is giving charity permissible?

Answer:
If it is because of his poverty or his kinship and poverty, then there is no blame on you for that. Perhaps Allah will guide him through that, and perhaps he will hear your advice because of it. Allah the Exalted said in His great Book: So Allah the Exalted has not forbidden us to be kind to these people, but the Exalted has not forbidden us from being dutiful to them and doing good to them. In the two Sahihs, it is narrated from Asma' bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with them both), the sister of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during the time of the truce that was between the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the people of Makkah, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah: She said, "O Messenger of Allah, my mother has come to visit me, and she is desiring wealth and kinship ties, and she is a disbeliever upon the religion of her people. She said, 'O Messenger of Allah! Should I maintain ties with her?'"
So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Maintain ties with her." He ordered her to maintain ties with her because she is her mother, and she came seeking gentleness and kindness, and she is upon the religion of her people, the disbelievers of the people of Makkah. This indicates that there is no barrier to maintaining ties with a disbeliever and doing good to him if he is poor or a relative, or for the purpose of da'wah (calling others to Islam), guidance, direction, and encouraging good. It is authentically narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he [gave] from his camels, and he gave [charity]. So Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has prescribed for us to win over disbelievers until they enter into Islam, and to win over those new to Islam until their Islam becomes strong. And by this it is known that charity to a disbeliever and an open sinner, other than from zakah, is permissible. And charity to a disbeliever from zakah is permissible if he is one whose heart is being won over, such as the leaders of tribes and the prominent people, if giving them from zakah wins them over until they enter into Islam, so that others follow their example. There is no harm in that, as Allah said: "Indeed, alms are only for the poor" "and those whose hearts are to be reconciled." They are the leaders and chiefs who are obeyed in their tribes. They are given from zakah what strengthens their faith, what encourages them to enter into Islam, what encourages them to lead their peers to Islam, and other such benefits. And success is from Allah.