16
Chapter: The End-of-Ramadan Alms
He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about zakāt al-fitr:
“Should it be given as dates, raisins, wheat, barley, or flour? May one give it to relatives whom one is not obliged to support? Or is it permissible to give its equivalent value?”
He replied:
Praise be to Allah. If the people of a locality subsist on one of these foodstuffs, they may undoubtedly give it from their staple food. But may they give other foodstuffs on which they subsist? For example, if their staples are rice and millet, must they give wheat or barley, or will rice, millet, or dhurah (a cereal grain) suffice? There is a well-known disagreement on this matter.
Two positions are reported from Ahmad:
بَابٌ صَدَقَةُ الْفِطْرِ
سُئِلَ - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ -:
عَنْ زَكَاةِ الْفِطْرِ:
هَلْ تُخْرَجُ تَمْرًا أَوْ زَبِيبًا أَوْ بُرًّا أَوْ شَعِيرًا أَوْ دَقِيقًا؟ وَهَلْ يُعْطِي لِلْأَقَارِبِ مِمَّنْ لَا تَجِبُ نَفَقَتُهُ؟ أَوْ يَجُوزُ إعْطَاءُ الْقِيمَةِ؟
فَأَجَابَ:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، أَمَّا إذَا كَانَ أَهْلُ الْبَلَدِ يَقْتَاتُونَ أَحَدَ هَذِهِ الْأَصْنَافِ جَازَ الْإِخْرَاجُ مِنْ قُوتِهِمْ بِلَا رَيْبٍ. وَهَلْ لَهُمْ أَنْ يُخْرِجُوا مَا يَقْتَاتُونَ مِنْ غَيْرِهَا؟ مِثْلُ أَنْ يَكُونُوا يَقْتَاتُونَ الْأُرْزَ وَالدُّخْنَ فَهَلْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْ يُخْرِجُوا حِنْطَةً أَوْ شَعِيرًا أَوْ يُجْزِئُهُمْ الْأُرْزُ وَالدُّخْنُ وَالذُّرَةُ؟ فِيهِ نِزَاعٌ مَشْهُورٌ.
وَهُمَا رِوَايَتَانِ عَنْ أَحْمَد: