Here, the author distinguishes between wheat and other foods: for wheat, the amount is one mudd, while for other foods it is half a sa‘.

A mudd is one quarter of a sa‘, because the Prophet’s sa‘ ﷺ was four mudds; half of it is two mudds. Thus, the author—may Allah have mercy on him—distinguishes between wheat and other foods, whereas in the chapter on Zakat al-Fitr he does not distinguish between wheat and other foods.

In the chapter on Zakat al-Fitr, it is one sa‘ of wheat, one sa‘ of dates, one sa‘ of barley, or any other food from which it may be given. The jurists—may Allah have mercy on them—distinguish between wheat and other foods in all expiations and fidyah, except in Zakat al-Fitr. For this reason, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—established a principle, saying: Wheat is half the amount of other foods; thus, according to Shaykh al-Islam, the amount for Zakat al-Fitr is half a sa‘.

However, our position concerning Zakat al-Fitr is that of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri—may Allah be pleased with him: “When Mu‘awiyah—may Allah be pleased with him—came to Madinah, he said, ‘I consider one mudd of this [wheat] to be equivalent to two mudds of barley.’ Abu Sa‘id said, ‘As for me, I shall continue to give it as I used to give it during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.’” (1) And we say as Abu Sa‘id—may Allah be pleased with him—said.

Likewise, our position here is that there is no difference between wheat and other foods, because the Prophet ﷺ said to Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah—may Allah be pleased with him: “Feed six needy people, giving each needy person half a sa‘.” (2) Thus, he specified the amount while leaving the type unrestricted, and the apparent meaning