The ruling on paying money instead of feeding in the fidyah and zakat al-fitr

Question : An elderly man who is ill and unable to fast: is it permissible to pay money instead of feeding? And is it permissible to pay this into what is called "feeding a fighter"?

Answer : Yes, it is obligatory for us to know an important rule, which is that what Allah the Exalted mentioned with the word "feeding" or "food" must be food. Allah the Exalted said regarding fasting: And He said regarding the expiation for an oath: "Its expiation is feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave." And regarding the zakat al-fitr, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made it obligatory to pay a sa' of food.
Therefore, what is mentioned in the texts with the word "food" or "feeding" cannot be replaced with money. Accordingly, for the elderly person whose obligation is feeding, it is not permissible to pay money in its place. Even if you paid ten times the value of the food, it would not suffice, because it is a deviation from what the text prescribed. Likewise, regarding the zakat al-fitr, some people said that if one paid the value of a sa' in gold, it would not suffice for a sa' of wheat. Why? Because gold is not mentioned in the text, whereas wheat is mentioned as food. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is what led some people to say this, claiming that they have a basis for it.
Did the Messenger specify the dinar and the dirham? No, he specified food. So we say to the brother who cannot fast due to his old age: feed a poor person for each day. There are two ways to feed them. The first way is to distribute it to them in their homes, giving each one five mudds of rice and adding something to complete their meal. If you wish, you can cook food and invite the number of poor people you are required to feed. For example, if ten days have passed, you can cook a dinner and invite ten poor people to eat. You can do the same for the second ten days and the third ten days. This is what Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) did when he grew old and could no longer fast; he fed thirty poor people on the last day of Ramadan. As for directing it to what is called...?
...feeding a fasting person, feeding a fighter. We do not have a fighter here to feed. And if we pay for his food today, when will it reach him? It might reach him after two or three days, or it might not reach him until after the festival, Allah knows best, depending on the number of transport routes and the ease of access. But whatever is required of you, keep it in your country so that you are assured it arrives on time. The same applies to the zakat al-fitr; you should not pay it outside your country, no matter what. The scholars said it is forbidden for a person to pay his zakat al-fitr in a country other than his own. If there are no poor people in his country, he should pay it in the nearest country that has poor people. The zakat al-fitr and the 'Id sacrifice are obligations attached to the person. Therefore, the scholars said that if a person is in one country and his money is in another, he should pay his zakat al-fitr in the country where he is, and pay the zakat on his money in the country where the money is. It is a mistake for us to send even the zakat al-fitr and the 'Id sacrifice to such-and-such a place and to such-and-such people. These are intended acts of worship. If we send the 'Id sacrifice to some place, our homes will be left without a sacrifice, and we will not establish the symbols of Islam in them. The 'Id sacrifice is one of the symbols of Islam. Therefore, the scholars said that if one gave the value of the 'Id sacrifice in charity a thousand times, it would not suffice as a sacrifice, because Allah says: from it.
I see that helping the mujahideen in Afghanistan or in other Muslim countries should be encouraged by people donating so that they allocate a portion of their wealth to jihad in the path of Allah. However, making the obligatory zakahs, which are required in any case, be spent on jihad, and not offering specific funds for jihad, means that we are paying the "tax" of jihad from the zakah that Allah has obligated upon us, as if we are not participating in the jihad. Because the zakah is required of us. Opening this door for people to spend their zakah on money and their zakah on their bodies on jihad in Afghanistan or elsewhere, I hold that a person must reflect on this so that we do not open a way for people to protect their wealth by using their zakah. We say: allocate from your wealth for jihad so that you are a mujahid. But how can you put your zakah into jihad? It is true that the mujahideen have a right to the zakah, but the non-mujahideen, the seven categories, also have a right to the zakah. So, make your donation for jihad from your wealth, and make a portion of your zakah for jihad, and give the other categories their share in any case. What I want to say regarding the issue of zakah: the zakat al-fitr is not permissible to be paid outside the person's country. The 'Id sacrifice is not permissible to be spent except in the person's country. The 'Id sacrifice is a symbol of Islam, which Allah the Exalted made for those residing in their homelands, just as He made gifts for the pilgrims in Makkah, and Allah is Wise. But if we spend it in money for such-and-such a place and such-and-such a place, and our homes remain without a sacrifice or, for example, without an 'aqiqah for the children, no. Open the door for Muslims to donate for jihad with their wealth, because jihad with wealth is the equivalent of jihad with the self. The Qur'an always pairs jihad with wealth and jihad with the self, and it prioritizes jihad with wealth over jihad with the self. But if we put our zakahs and the things Allah has obligated upon us into jihad, and keep our money saved so we do not participate in the jihad, there is something to consider here. I am not saying we will not donate; we should donate to the mujahideen everywhere, because they are our brothers and we support them. But making our obligations, which Allah has obligated upon us in our wealth, or which He has made a symbol of Islam to be in our homes, and spending them here and there, this requires reflection. Yes.