If I owe an expiation of feeding sixty poor people, is it permissible to give it to three poor people, and is it permissible to appoint my father to buy it for me?
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The questioner:
If I owe an expiation of feeding sixty poor people, is it permissible for me to give it to my family, consisting of three people who are poor, and is it permissible for me to appoint my father on my behalf to buy the food and give it to them? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
As for appointing someone to perform the expiation, there is nothing wrong with it; you may appoint someone to pay the expiation on your behalf. However, regarding the number mentioned in the verse, you must adhere to it. You must feed sixty poor people. It is not sufficient to give it to three, ten, or twenty. If you give it to three, you still owe fifty-seven; you must complete the number. If you give it to twenty, you still owe forty; you must complete the number, and so on. Therefore, you must adhere to the number mentioned by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), which is feeding sixty poor people.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. What if I give it to them such that this feeding is for twenty times, for example?
The Shaykh:
That is not sufficient. I mean, repeating it is not sufficient. If you repeat it for one poor person or several poor people, it is not sufficient. The specified number is required.
The presenter:
Yes, may Allah reward you with good.
If I owe an expiation of feeding sixty poor people, is it permissible for me to give it to my family, consisting of three people who are poor, and is it permissible for me to appoint my father on my behalf to buy the food and give it to them? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
As for appointing someone to perform the expiation, there is nothing wrong with it; you may appoint someone to pay the expiation on your behalf. However, regarding the number mentioned in the verse, you must adhere to it. You must feed sixty poor people. It is not sufficient to give it to three, ten, or twenty. If you give it to three, you still owe fifty-seven; you must complete the number. If you give it to twenty, you still owe forty; you must complete the number, and so on. Therefore, you must adhere to the number mentioned by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), which is feeding sixty poor people.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. What if I give it to them such that this feeding is for twenty times, for example?
The Shaykh:
That is not sufficient. I mean, repeating it is not sufficient. If you repeat it for one poor person or several poor people, it is not sufficient. The specified number is required.
The presenter:
Yes, may Allah reward you with good.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، إذا كان علي كفارة إطعام ستين مسكيناً فهل يجوز ان أعطيها لثلاثة فقراء وهل يجوز أن أنيب والدي ليشتريها — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.