and these were the foods most commonly eaten in Madinah. If the people of another land or neighborhood have a different staple, they must give one sāʿ (roughly four double-handfuls) of that staple. Should their staple not be a grain—such as milk, meat, or fish—they give their Fitrah from that very staple, whatever it may be. This is the position of the majority of scholars, and it is the correct view from which no departure is permissible, for the purpose is simply to relieve the poor on the day of Eid and to share with them from the type of food their own townspeople live on. On this basis, giving flour is acceptable even though no sound hadith explicitly mentions it. As for distributing baked bread or cooked food: although this may be more useful to the poor, since it spares them effort and expense, uncooked grain can actually benefit them more because it keeps longer.” End of Ibn al-Qayyim’s words.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: “One should give from the staple of his locality, such as rice and the like, even if he could obtain the specific items named in the hadith. This is one report from Ahmad, the view held by most scholars, and the soundest opinion, for the underlying principle in all obligatory charities is that they are acts of assistance to the poor.” End quote.

As for discharging Zakat al-Fitr by paying its cash value, handing over dirhams instead of food, this contravenes the Sunnah and is not valid, because neither the Prophet ﷺ nor any of his Companions ever gave Zakat al-Fitr in monetary form.

Imam Ahmad said, “The cash value is not to be given.” He was asked, “Some people say that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz used to accept the value in money.” He replied, “They are abandoning the statement of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—”