The ruling on paying the value in zakat al-fitr
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Question:
And does this apply, may Allah reward you, to zakat al-fitr?
Answer:
No, zakat al-fitr is specified by text and is not changed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered its payment and defined its amount as a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg): a sa' of wheat, a sa' of barley, a sa' of dates, a sa' of dried curds, or a sa' of raisins. He defined it by the sa'. Is it permissible to pay the monetary value in zakat? No, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) defined it by the sa'. He did not simply order the payment of charity in general, but rather ordered the sa' and the specific amount, and specified the types from which it is paid: from wheat, from barley, from dates, from raisins, and from dried curds. This indicates that it is not paid in monetary value, because monetary value existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Currency existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), yet he did not order the payment of currency; rather, he ordered the payment of food, defined by the sa'. And because it is on the day of Eid. The poor do not find a place to buy from if you give them money; they do not find a place to buy food on the day of Eid, because people have closed their shops. They have closed their shops, and the poor cannot find anything.
The purpose of it is to benefit them on this day, because on days other than the day of Eid they work and toil, earning the wages for the day of Eid, when there is no work and no shops. So they are given food to eat on this day, the day of Eid, so that they may rest with the people and rejoice with the people. Yes.
And does this apply, may Allah reward you, to zakat al-fitr?
Answer:
No, zakat al-fitr is specified by text and is not changed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered its payment and defined its amount as a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg): a sa' of wheat, a sa' of barley, a sa' of dates, a sa' of dried curds, or a sa' of raisins. He defined it by the sa'. Is it permissible to pay the monetary value in zakat? No, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) defined it by the sa'. He did not simply order the payment of charity in general, but rather ordered the sa' and the specific amount, and specified the types from which it is paid: from wheat, from barley, from dates, from raisins, and from dried curds. This indicates that it is not paid in monetary value, because monetary value existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Currency existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), yet he did not order the payment of currency; rather, he ordered the payment of food, defined by the sa'. And because it is on the day of Eid. The poor do not find a place to buy from if you give them money; they do not find a place to buy food on the day of Eid, because people have closed their shops. They have closed their shops, and the poor cannot find anything.
The purpose of it is to benefit them on this day, because on days other than the day of Eid they work and toil, earning the wages for the day of Eid, when there is no work and no shops. So they are given food to eat on this day, the day of Eid, so that they may rest with the people and rejoice with the people. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما القول الراجح في حكم إخراج القيمة في الزكاة؟ لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (0:33)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.