Paying zakat al-fitr in meat

A question on paying zakat al-fitr in beef or chicken, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department set out the schools' views and held that it is better not to pay it in meat, though it is valid from someone following a school that allows it. ¹

The questioner asked whether zakat al-fitr may be paid in beef or chicken and, if so, how much. ¹

The Department explained that zakat al-fitr was made obligatory as a purification for the one who fasted and food for the poor, and that what is due is a sa' of wheat, barley, dates, raisins, rice or similar staple food, citing hadith reports from Ibn Umar and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri. ¹ It reported the Shafi'i view that it is paid from the land's staple food, and that meat does not count even if it is the local staple, since it is not normally a staple; those with no qualifying staple pay from that of the nearest place. ¹ It reported the Hanafi view that meat is allowed, since they allow paying the value for ease and the poor's benefit, to the value of half a sa' of wheat, that is 1,625 grams; and the Maliki view that it is paid from nine specified foods, and only if these are lacking from the prevailing food, even meat, equivalent to a sa' of wheat. ¹ It concluded that it is better not to pay it in meat, to avoid the disagreement of those who forbid it, but that it is valid from someone who follows a view allowing it. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3814, dated 10 October 2023. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.