The debate over paying zakat al-fitr in cash has not ceased, and some may argue in their conviction, bearing in mind that the legal purpose of zakat is to enrich the needy from asking during the days of Eid. And the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: Enrich them, and enrichment is achieved by value, just as it is achieved by food. What is meant is to enrich the poor, and money is more beneficial to some of them than food, so it is considered the condition of the poor in every country, and some of the poor may resort to selling food on the day or tomorrow for less than its price. He was not the one who benefited from the food, nor was he the one who took the value of this saa’ at the same price.
And Sheikh Abdullah bin Jibreen – may God have mercy on him – believes that the basic principle in zakat al-fitr is to pay it from foods that are satiated and known in the country, which are available and present mostly in every country, except that many countries do not use food and do not improve it, but they eat in restaurants, and it may be Their sustenance is from the usual bread, so that one of them buys a loaf or two that he eats on his way to his place of work, and he does not have the ability to grind, bake and fix food, and if he is given from the instinct of wheat or barley, then he sells it at a low price in order to buy with it what he eats. Scholars give preference to giving them the value that they benefit from by buying food or something else, as is the case in many countries who do not have dates, raisins, aqt, or stalks, so the value in this case benefits them and gives them food that suits them.
Some muftis favor the Hanafi school of thought, which says that it is permissible to pay the value of zakat al-fitr, while some adhere to the opinion of the public who adhere to what is stipulated (dates, barley, Iqt). And the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, believes that “it is permissible for a Muslim to give alms to a poor Christian and to give zakat al-Fitr to a Christian or a Jew, just as it is permissible for a Muslim to bequeath his money to a Christian after his death.”
The good promise is one of the aspects of charity and cooperation between Muslims and the People of the Book, especially Christians among them, such as a Muslim giving alms to a poor Christian, paying zakat al-Fitr to a Christian or a Jew, and bequeathing his money to a Christian after his death.
Zakat al-Fitr was set at 2.5 kilograms of rice, wheat, dates, or raisins, or their value.
Ali Al-Rubai (Abha) @Al_ARobai