His second question asks about zakah: if you are in a small village and there are no poor or needy people in it, are you allowed to go to another village where there are poor people?
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The questioner : His second question asks about zakah: if you are in a small village and there are no poor or needy people in it, are you allowed to go to another village where there are poor people and give them what you have, or what is better: do you pay money or food?
The Shaykh : If there are no poor people in your town, you transfer it to the nearest town that has poor people, and there is nothing wrong with that. As for your question about whether to distribute it as food or coins: if you mean by that zakat al-fitr, which is the sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) paid at the end of Ramadan, then coins do not suffice for it; it must be food, based on the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) And Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 4:551 to the end of the hadith. Barley was their food at that time, as in the hadith of Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him). Accordingly, it is not permissible for you to pay zakat al-fitr except with the food specified by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.
The Shaykh : If there are no poor people in your town, you transfer it to the nearest town that has poor people, and there is nothing wrong with that. As for your question about whether to distribute it as food or coins: if you mean by that zakat al-fitr, which is the sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) paid at the end of Ramadan, then coins do not suffice for it; it must be food, based on the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him)