Why is zakat al-fitr not valid in cash?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah reward you. Why is the charity of fitr not valid!
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : Why is the charity of fitr not valid in cash?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is not permissible to give zakat al-fitr except from food, based on the statement of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father):Sahih al-Bukhari 1503 He specified it. And Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said: . And because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made it obligatory as a sa' of food: dates, barley, raisins, or dried yogurt. These four are generally of different value, is that not so?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Of different value, meaning it is very rare for a sa' of dates to be equal to a sa' of barley, or a sa' of raisins, or a sa' of dried yogurt. This is rare. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made it obligatory as a sa' of food, which varies in value. This indicates that it is not valid by value. Is that clear?
But suppose we are in a country where they do not accept anything but coins. We say: Take this food and sell it. If they refuse, we transfer it to another country. Yes.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : Why is the charity of fitr not valid in cash?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is not permissible to give zakat al-fitr except from food, based on the statement of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father):
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) enjoined the payment of one Sa' of dates or one Sa' of barley as Zakat-ul-Fitr
فرض النّبيّ صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلّم زكاة الفطر صاعاً من تمر أو صاعاً من شعيرWe used to give it in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) as a sa' of food
كنّا نخرجها على عهد النّبيّ صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلّم صاعًا من طعامThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Of different value, meaning it is very rare for a sa' of dates to be equal to a sa' of barley, or a sa' of raisins, or a sa' of dried yogurt. This is rare. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made it obligatory as a sa' of food, which varies in value. This indicates that it is not valid by value. Is that clear?
But suppose we are in a country where they do not accept anything but coins. We say: Take this food and sell it. If they refuse, we transfer it to another country. Yes.