The Samra in Zakat al-Fitr and the Era of the Prophet

The questioner:
I say, Honorable Shaykh, was the samra present in the era of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The Shaykh:
Was it?

The questioner:
May Allah send prayers upon the Prophet.

The Shaykh:
Yes, indeed. The samra means the hamdha, a type of hamdha. He said the samra existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The questioner:
So in the hadith of Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding zakat, he says: When Mu'awiyah came and the samra was brought, he said, "I think this is a fine variety; I am pleased with it."

The Shaykh:
Yes? Because the samra is of the good type, of the good type. And this was an ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) of Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), an ijtihad. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) generalized it: a sa' of barley, a sa' of barley, whether it is from the samra or from anything else. This is the text of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As for what Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, it was his ijtihad. Yes.