Short answer
Yes, in the Hanafi school. Paying the value in money is valid, and often better, since the poor can buy what they need. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools hold that it must be given as food, so their followers give grain, rice or dates, or ask a charity to buy food with their money.
Paying the value (qima) of sadaqat al-fitr in money is valid, and where money meets the poor person's needs better it is preferred. Where food is scarce and money cannot easily buy it, giving the food itself is better.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- It must be paid as a staple food; paying its value in money does not count.
- Maliki
- It must be paid as a staple food; paying its value in money does not count.
- Hanbali
- It must be paid as a staple food; paying its value in money does not count.
Explanation
The purpose of zakat al-fitr is to spare the poor from need on the day of Eid. The Hanafi school reasons that this is met as well by money as by food, and often better: a family can buy what it actually needs, whether that is flour, meat, clothes or fuel. The Companions also judged the measure by value, when they accepted half a sa' of costly Syrian wheat as equal to a full sa' of dates. Paying the cash value is therefore valid, and in most cities today it is the more useful choice.
The other three schools hold to the wording of the hadith, which names foods. In their view zakat al-fitr is a duty to feed the poor, and money does not count. This is a well-known difference among the imams.
In practice:
- If you follow the Hanafi school, you can pay the cash amount your masjid or a charity announces.
- If you follow another school, give staple food, or pay a charity that will buy food on your behalf and hand it to the poor. The charity acts as your agent, so the food it gives counts for you.
- In a famine or where markets are failing, food is better in every school.
For the amount, see how much zakat al-fitr is, or work out your family's total on the zakat al-fitr calculator.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 1508
Sahih... أرى مدا من هذا يعدل مدين ...
"I think one mudd of this (Syrian wheat) equals two mudds (of other food)."
The Companions measured zakat al-fitr by value, which the Hanafis take as the basis for paying its worth.
Sunan Abi Dawud 1609
Graded hasan... طهرة للصائم من اللغو والرفث وطعمة للمساكين ...
"A purification for the fasting person from idle and indecent talk, and food for the poor."
Shows its purpose; the other schools take food for the poor literally, the Hanafis read it as meeting the needs of the poor.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on sadaqat al-fitr. Paying the value is valid.
- Bada'i al-Sana'i, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on sadaqat al-fitr. The purpose is to meet the needs of the poor, which value achieves.
- al-Majmu', Kitab Zakat al-Fitr. The Shafi'i view that value does not count.
- al-Mughni, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on zakat al-fitr. The Hanbali view that value does not count.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.