The Ruling on Paying Zakat al-Fitr in Cash

The questioner:
A questioner says: In our country, Algeria, may Allah protect it, and in the lands of the Muslims, they follow the Maliki school of jurisprudence, but regarding Zakat al-Fitr, they adopt the opinion of Abu Hanifa that Zakat al-Fitr is paid in cash. Is paying it in cash sufficient? And what is your advice to Muslims in general, and to the Algerians in particular? May Allah bless you.

The Shaykh:
The charity of Fitr. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified it clearly, and it is a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of wheat, or a sa' of barley, or a sa' of dates, or a sa' of raisins, or a sa' of dried curds; because these are the foods that existed in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) among the Bedouins and the city dwellers. If other foods come that take their place, one pays a sa' of food from them, because in the hadith: the food of the land that is eaten as a staple in the land, one pays a sa' from it. As for cash, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not command it, even though it existed in his time. Cash existed in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Why did he turn away from it?
And he commanded a sa' of food, so we adhere to what came in the hadith, and it is not our concern what so-and-so issued a fatwa on or what so-and-so said, as long as that contradicts the text of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: We paid our Zakat al-Fitr in cash, and my father pays it in food. Is our action correct? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
Your father is the one who is correct in paying it in food; he is the one who is correct. So pay it in food, estimated by the measure of the sa', yes, and it is approximately three kilograms. The sa' is approximately three kilograms, yes.