Question:
Assalamualaikum wbt,
What is the type and rate of zakat fitrah?
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wrt, wbt.,
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
The rate and type of zakat fitrah is one sa’ of staple food for a certain state where the mukallaf is residing.
This is in accordance with a hadith from Abi Sa’id al-Khudri RA, where he said:
كُنَّا نُخْرِجُ فِي عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمَ الْفِطْرِ صَاعًا مِنْ طَعَامٍ. وَقَالَ أَبُو سَعِيدٍ وَكَانَ طَعَامَنَا الشَّعِيرُ وَالزَّبِيبُ وَالأَقِطُ وَالتَّمْرُ
“In the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) , we used to give one Sa' of food (edible things) as Sadaqat-ul-Fitr (to the poor). Our food used to be either of barley, raisins (dried grapes), cottage cheese or dates.”
Sahih al-Bukhari (1439)
The measurement of one sa’ used by the Messenger PBUH is equivalent to 4 mudds. This measurement is equivalent to 3 litres or approximately 2400 grams. According to the sa’ measurement, one sa’ is equivalent to 2750 grams. If wheat is the staple food of the citizens in our country, then the zakat fitrah on each individual is 3 litres of wheat.