Is order required in the expiation for an oath?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, it is common among the general public that when someone says "By Allah" or swears an oath, they say, "If you do not fulfill it, fast for three days." Is it necessary to maintain the order in the expiation?
Answer:
Yes, it is necessary to maintain the order between the three options and fasting. One is given the choice among the three: feeding ten poor people, clothing them, or freeing a slave; there is a choice among these three. As for fasting, one does not resort to it unless one is unable to do any one of these three,[Al-Ma'idah 5:89]. So the expiation for an oath involves both a choice and an order. Fasting is not sufficient if one is able to provide clothing, able to provide food, and able to free a slave; it is not sufficient.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, it is common among the general public that when someone says "By Allah" or swears an oath, they say, "If you do not fulfill it, fast for three days." Is it necessary to maintain the order in the expiation?
Answer:
Yes, it is necessary to maintain the order between the three options and fasting. One is given the choice among the three: feeding ten poor people, clothing them, or freeing a slave; there is a choice among these three. As for fasting, one does not resort to it unless one is unable to do any one of these three,
But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required].
فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [2554 -2802] هل يشترط الترتيب في كفارة اليمين؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.