The ruling of Sadaqat al-Fitr and the method of its payment

Question

What do the scholars say about Sadaqat al-Fitr: is it obligatory or not? If it is obligatory, what is the method of giving it? If a man on the day of Eid al-Fitr gives Sadaqat al-Fitr in the following way: he cooks food and meat as is customary in Punjab, where people are given a large amount of prepared food, not just two loaves of bread as is done in India or in some parts of Punjab. They eat their share and then return the remainder to the owner. Is this form valid for paying Sadaqat al-Fitr or not?

Answer

Sadaqat al-Fitr is obligatory. This is explicitly stated by al-Haskafi in “ad-Durr al-Mukhtar”, vol. 1, p. 122. The method of giving it is to give half a sa‘ of wheat, or its flour or parched grain, or one sa‘ of dates, raisins, or barley to someone eligible to receive zakat.

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.