Ruling on giving zakat al-fitr from other than the specified categories

Q: Is it permissible to pay zakat al-fitr with cottony grains, such as rice, corn, barley, and millet, even if their husks are still on them?

A: That is permissible if it is the staple food of the country, according to the most correct of the scholars' opinions, but after it has been cleaned of the husks; because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surat al-Baqarah: 267], and because that is more purifying for the conscience and more convenient for the poor, except for barley, which does not have to be cleaned of its husk due to the hardship involved. However, if one gives rice or similar grains that are best preserved in their husks, and it is established that he has fulfilled the obligatory amount of cleaned grain, then there is no harm in that, if Allah wills, taking into account the benefit of the owner and the poor. And success is from Allah.