“If the five are unavailable, then any staple grain or fruit suffices—provided it is not defective; nor does bread suffice …”

His statement, “If the five are unavailable,” means that wheat, barley, dates, raisins, or dried curds are unavailable in one’s locality, or in a place customarily considered nearby, and obtaining them would entail hardship. In that case, one is not required to travel in order to procure them.

His statement, “then any staple grain or fruit suffices,” means that, when the five are unavailable, anything from grains or fruits that people consume as staple food and eat suffices for zakat al-fitr.

It is understood from this that if one gives something other than the five while they are available, it does not suffice, even if it is a staple food or is considered better by people.

Grains include rice, maize, and the like.

Fruit includes figs. In the past, figs were used as staple food and stored, exactly as dates were, because they were abundant in the Arabian Peninsula.

In summary, according to the author’s view, if a person cannot find any of the five aforementioned types, then any grain suffices in place of barley or wheat, and any fruit in place of raisins or dates.

However, if people’s staple food is neither grain nor fruit, but meat, for example—as with those who live in the North Pole, whose staple food and usual diet is predominantly meat—then the apparent meaning of the author’s words is that giving it as zakat al-fitr does not suffice. But the correct view is that it does suffice, without doubt.

One issue arises: a sa' of meat cannot readily be measured by volume. We reply that, if volumetric measurement is not feasible, recourse is made to weight, although meat can be measured by volume once it has dried.

His statement, “provided it is not defective,” is connected to “any”; that is, a defective item does not suffice, even if it is wheat or dates.