Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) says that once Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) delivered a sermon at the end of the month of Ramadan and said: O people of Basra! Pay the zakat of your fasts. Upon hearing this, the people began to look at each other. Then he said: Who among you is from the people of Madinah? Stand up and teach your brothers, for they do not know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed the amount of Sadaqat al-Fitr as half a sa’ of wheat, or one sa’ of barley, or one sa’ of dates, which is obligatory upon every free person and slave, male and female.