What is the value of zakat al-fitr?

Question:
Your Eminence the Shaykh! Some of the brothers are asking, and perhaps he did not attend yesterday's lesson, what is the value of zakat al-fitr? Is it permissible to pay it in money? Do my family pay it on my behalf while I am in Makkah? Or do I pay it here in Makkah?

Answer:
Money is not sufficient for zakat al-fitr; it must be food, specifically the staple food of the country, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made it obligatory as food, not as money. Therefore, paying the value is not sufficient; it must be paid from the staple food of the country. The amount is one sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is three kilograms. This is the amount. The place where it is paid is the place where the person is; zakat al-fitr is paid on his behalf in the place where he is. If his family pays it in their country, they pay it on his behalf and on their own, and there is no harm in that. If he appoints them to do so, there is no harm in that. It is also permissible for him to pay the zakat of his family along with his own in the country where he is. This is permissible. Yes.