The Shaykh : Its type is the type of zakat, which is food. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
We used to give it in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a sa' of food, and our food was dates, barley, raisins, and dried cheese.
كنا نخرجها على عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم صاعا من طعام وكان طعامنا التمر والشعير والزبيب والأقط
And in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) enjoined Zakat-ul-fitr on the one who fasts (i.e. fasted during the month of Ramadan) to purify him from any indecent act or speech and for the purpose of providing food for the needy
فرضها النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم طهرة للصائم من اللغو والرفث وطعمة للمساكين Therefore, it must be from food.
