the foodstuff he has chosen for himself is inferior or superior, unless he cannot afford to give anything better than what he subsists on, in which case nothing else is required of him. This is Ibn al-Qāsim’s position and his transmission from Mālik in al-Mudawwana. Muhammad ibn al-Mawwāz—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—held that consideration is given not to the locality’s staple but to what the person himself subsists on: he gives from that, whether it is superior or inferior to the locality’s staple. However, if he has abandoned the locality’s staple for something inferior out of stinginess and miserliness, he must give from the locality’s staple. Zakat al-fitr may not be paid in pulses outside these foodstuffs at all. Another opinion makes an exception when these are their staple and their consumption of them increases in times of abundance and dearth—that is, when prices are low and when times are hard. Ibn al-Qāsim’s statements on this differ.
The second opinion is Yahyā’s transmission from Ibn al-Qāsim in al-ʿUtbiyya: it may be paid in five foodstuffs—wheat, barley, dates, raisins and curds. It may not be paid in huskless barley, sorghum, millet or rice unless these are their staple and their consumption of them increases in times of abundance and dearth. According to this opinion, it may not be paid in pulses or sesame, even if these are their staple.
The third is Ibn al-Mājishūn’s opinion, reported from him by al-Fadl: it may be paid in five foodstuffs—wheat, barley, huskless barley, dates and curds.
The fourth is Ashhab’s opinion: it may be paid in six foodstuffs—wheat, barley, huskless barley, dates, curds and raisins.
The fifth is Ibn Habīb’s opinion: it may be paid in ten foodstuffs, adding spelt to the list. He held that a person may choose between wheat, barley and dates, giving whichever he wishes, whether his own staple is inferior or superior. If none of these three is his staple, he must give whichever of the remaining seven foodstuffs is both his staple and the prevailing staple of his locality. If his staple and that of his locality is one of these seven, but he pays his zakat al-fitr in another of them, it does not discharge his obligation. The apparent meaning of his statement is that this applies even if what he gives is superior to his staple and that of his locality. Consider, in light of his position, the case where the staple of a person and his dependants is one of these seven but differs from the locality’s staple. The more apparent conclusion is that he gives from the locality’s staple, whether it is superior or inferior, unless his own staple is inferior and he cannot afford to pay zakat al-fitr in the locality’s staple.