Al-Shawkānī, in al-Sayl al-Jarrār 2/86-87, adopted the same stance; hence Ibn al-Qayyim remarked in Zād al-Maʿād:
“It was his ﷺ practice to reserve this charity exclusively for the poor….”

Under the heading “Its Disbursement” the author writes: “On the strength of what al-Bayhaqī and al-Dāraquṭnī transmitted from Ibn ʿUmar—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made Zakāt al-Fiṭr obligatory and said, ‘Provide for them on this day.’”

I say: The author’s presentation suggests that al-Bayhaqī merely cited the report without comment, whereas he actually hinted at its weakness, saying (4/175): “This Abū Maʿshar—i.e., one of its narrators, Najīḥ al-Sindī al-Madīnī—others are more reliable than he.”

Al-Ḥāfiẓ, in his biographical entry on him in al-Taqrīb, wrote: “Weak, advanced in age, and he became confused.” For that reason al-Ḥāfiẓ unequivocally declared the hadith weak in Bulūgh al-Marām, preceded in that judgement by al-Nawawī in al-Majmūʿ 6/126. The preceding hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās suffices in its place.

Under the heading “Giving it to a dhimmī,” the author states: “Al-Zuhrī, Abū Ḥanīfah, Muḥammad, and Ibn Shubruma allowed a dhimmī to receive Zakāt al-Fiṭr, citing Allah’s words, ‘Allah does not forbid you concerning those who have not fought you on account of religion and have not driven you out of your homes, that you should show them kindness and act justly toward them; surely Allah loves those who act justly’ (60:8).” 1

I reply: The verse affords no proof for permissibility, for its apparent purport is benevolence toward them in the form of non-obligatory alms. Abū ʿUbayd recorded—no. 1991, with a sound chain—from Ibn ʿAbbās who said:
“There were people who had relatives and kin among Qurayẓah and al-Naḍīr, and they would refrain from giving charity….”