The Ruling on Giving Flour and Dates as Zakat al-Fitr

The questioner:
Your Eminence, the questioner says: What is the ruling on giving flour from wheat as zakat al-fitr?

The Shaykh:
What aligns with the evidence is that it is to be given from the grain that is measured and stored, such as wheat, rice, raisins, dates, or barley. If it is what is eaten in the country, it is to be given as grain. Yes.

The questioner:
May Allah bless you. He says: And what is meant by the dates that...?

The Shaykh:
The scholars say, or the flour of them, or the coarse flour of them, but this requires evidence. Yes.

The questioner:
May Allah reward you. He says, completing his question: And what is meant by the dates that suffice in zakat al-fitr? Is it the dried dates, or must it be the stored dates that are kept?

The Shaykh:
Dates that are eaten and from which the needy person benefits, whether they are dried, canned, or pressed, meaning stored, on the condition that they reach the required amount.