Is it Islamically permissible for the apportioned Zakat al-Fitr to be chicken meat, if chicken is among the staple foods of the people of the land and it is given with the intention of benefiting the poor?

Zakat al-Fitr is to be given from the staple food of the land, such as wheat and rice. Chicken is not considered a basic staple in most countries; rather, it is a relish and a luxury. Nevertheless, giving zakat from chicken meat is permissible based on the opinion that it is permissible to give its value if it serves a benefit for the poor.

Some scholars are of the view that anything that is a staple food is permissible to be given as Zakat al-Fitr, even if the five prescribed categories of food exist, and this is the view preferred by Sheikh Muhammad bin Salih al-Uthaymeen. When giving meat as Zakat al-Fitr, what is considered is the weight, not the volume.