Al-Shaafa'i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "If the staple food
of a people is corn, pearl millet (dukhn), thin-husked barley (sult),
rice or any grain on which zakaat is obligatory, then they may give it
as zakaat al-fitr.
(Al-Shaafa'i, al-Umm , part 2, Baab al-Rajul yakhtalifu qootuhu )
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "Our companions said:
'It is a condition of giving something as zakaat al-fitr that it
should be one of the foodstuffs on which zakaat is paid at the rate of
one-tenth (i.e.,zakaah of grains and fruits). Nothing else is
acceptable except aqit (dried yoghurt), cheese and milk.'"
Al-Maawardi said: "This is the case even though some of the people who
live on islands and others have fish or eggs as their staple food;
these are not acceptable (as zakaat al-fitr) and there is no
difference (amongthe scholars concerning this). As regards meat, the
correct view is that stated by al-Shaafa'i and confirmed by
al-Musannif and the companions in all that was narrated from them:
that it is not acceptable (as zakaat al-fitr), and this is the
unanimousview (of the scholars)… Our companions said: 'This is the
case even if their staple food is fruits on which they do not have to
give one-tenth as zakaat, such as figs etc. Theseare not acceptable
(aszakaat al-fitr) at all."
( Al-Majmoo' , part 6: al-Waajib fi Zakaat al-Fitr ).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "If it was said,
'You must give asaa' of dates everywhere, whetherit is the staple food
or not,' this is a disputed matter which is subject to ijtihaad. There
are some people who saythat it is obligatory, and others who say that
in each country itis obligatory to give asaa' of whatever is the
staple food there, as the Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be
upon him) specified five types offood for zakaat al-fitr, so in each
country they can give the equivalent of a saa' of their staple food.
This is more correct, and is closer to the principles of sharee'ah,
for how can you make it obligatory for people whose staple food is
fish, for example, or rice or pearl millet, togive dates? … And Allaah
is the Source of strength.
( I'laam al-Muwaqqa'een , part 2, al-Qiyaas ) .
It is permissible to give pasta ("macaroni") that is made from wheat,
but one must make certain that the weight is equivalent to the weight
of a saa' of wheat.
As for giving zakaat al-fitr in the form of money, this is not
permissible at all, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said that it mustbe given in the form of food, not money.
He clearly stated that it is to be given in theform of food, so it is
not permissible to give it in any other form and Islam wantsit to be
given openly, not secretly. The Sahaabah gave zakaat al-fitr in the
form of food, and we should follow, not innovate. The giving of zakaat
al-fitr in theform of food is regulated by the measure of saa', and if
it were to be given in the form of money,it could not be regulated in
this manner: according to the price of what would it be worked out and
given? There are obvious benefits to giving it in the form of staple
foods, such as at times when businessmen are hoarding certain goods,
prices have gone up, or at times of war and inflation. If someone were
to say, "But money is more useful for the poor, because then they can
buy what they want, and they might need something other thanfood, so
the poor person might sell the food and lose money." The responseto
this is that there are other sources for meeting the needs of the poor
with regard to shelter, clothing and so on, which are provided for
from thezakaat paid on people's wealth (zakaat al-maal), general
charity and other kinds of donations. Let us put things into the
proper Islamic perspective and adhere to what was set out by the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him), who told us that
giving a saa' of food to feed the poor is obligatory. If we give food
to a poor person, he will eat it and will benefitfrom it sooner or
later, because it is thekind of food he uses anyway.
On this basis, it is not permissible, for the purposes of zakaat
al-fitr, to give money for a person to pay off his debts or to cover
the cost of surgery for a sick person or to pay for tuition for a
needy student and so on. There are other sources for this kind of
help, as stated above.
The time for giving zakaat al-fitr
It should be given before the Eid prayer,as is stated in the hadeeth
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him) "commanded
that it should be given before the people went out to pray."
(Al-Bukhaari, 1407).
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