The practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions was to give zakatul-fitr in the form of food. Abu Sa'eed al-Khidri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
"(At the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him)) we used to give out zakatul-fitr as one saa` of ta`am (food), one saa` of barley, one saa` of dates, one saa` of aqit (dried yogurt), or one saa` of raisins. At that time, our food used to be barley, raisins, aqit, and dates."
The scholars differ in understanding the "food" referred to in this report. From this report, it is easy to conclude that it refers to grains and other types of food which can be measured with a container. This is confirmed by various reports from the sahabah (may Allah be pleased with him). For example, Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"The sadaqah of Ramadan is one saa` of food. Thus, he who brings wheat, it will be accepted from him; he who brings barley, it will be accepted from him; he who brings dates, it will be accepted from him; he who brings rye, it will be accepted from him; he who brings raisins, it will be accepted from him..."
The above Hadiths further indicate that one may not give it in the form of money; nor may one give it using other types of food, such as meat or butter. Since it is an act of worship, it must be performed in accordance with the Sunnah. However, one may determine the approximate monetary value of the goods that he wants to give, and give that to an individual or organization that he trusts to buy the correct types. It is important that when it reaches the recipients, it is in a form permissible by the Sunnah.
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