Is it permissible for a son to pay his zakah to his parents?

The questioner : Is it possible to give zakah to one's parents?

The Shaykh : It is possible and it is not possible, until we know the reality. And knowing the reality is something many have rambled about today and have written treatises on the jurisprudence of reality. If the parents are living independently and the son is living independently from them, and they are provided for such that he does not have to maintain them, and they are not wealthy, then he may give them the zakah, and it will be his zakah and a means of maintaining family ties. But if they are living with the son and he shares the expenses, food, and drink with them, then it is not permissible. Or if they are, for example, wealthy, then it is not permissible. You know this condition is fundamental, which is what we see. And Allah knows best. As for the scholars, you know their opinions, because "charity or zakah is not permissible for the ancestors and the descendants," meaning it is not permissible from the father to the son and vice versa, as you heard just now.
The student : Imam al-Shawkani in "al-Sayl al-Jarrar" permitted that, and Sa'id Hasan Khan permitted giving the descendant to the ancestor...

The Shaykh : It is necessary to distinguish between cases.
The student : It is necessary to distinguish between cases.

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh: It is known.