Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. What is the ruling of giving Zakat al-Fitr on behalf of someone? What is the ruling of paying Zakat al-Fitr in cash? إخراج زكاة الفطر عن الغير ؟ وما حكم إخراجها من النقد؟

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say: If a person offers to pay Zakat al-Fitr on behalf of someone that will suffice. However, the person doing so should be delegated because the payment of Zakat al-Fitr requires an intention, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions” [al-Bukhari (1)]. If a person gives Zakat al-Fitr on behalf of someone without being delegated this would not be valid because the intention is a requirement.   Is it sufficient to pay Zakat al-Fitr in cash? The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that it is compulsory to pay Zakat al-Fitr in the form of a sa’ of dates because of the hadith that was transmitted in the Sahihain that “Prophet (peace be upon him) prescribed the payment of Zakat al-Fitr as one sa’ of food or one sa’ of dates”. [al-Bukhari (1506) and Muslim (985)] . This text indicates that it is compulsory to give food for Zakat al-Fitr.  The hadith of Abu Sa’id states, “We would give Zakat Al-Fitr - when the Messenger of Allah was among us - as a sa’ of food, or a sa’ of barely, or a sa’ of dried dates, or a sa’ of raisins, or a sa' of cheese” [at-Tirmithi (673)]. He mentioned five types of food and this indicates that what is required is to give the staple food of a country as Zakat al-Fitr. However, if there is need or benefit in giving Zakat al-Fitr as cash, then there is no problem. An example of need is a country where the people do not accept food as Zakat al-Fitr. In this case the need calls for payment in cash. Another example is a country where there is a lot of food, and if you give the poor food they will accept it but money is more beneficial to them, then in this case it will be permissible to pay cash.