Expiation for an Oath, the Value of the Expiation, and Where It Is Paid

Question:
May Allah reward you. This questioner says: I visited one of my relatives, and he contacted one of the kitchens to prepare a feast, meaning a sacrificial animal, for me. I swore to him that he should not slaughter the animal for me because I do not want him to incur a loss, and because I do not eat meat. He told me he had not contacted any kitchen, but it later turned out that he had indeed contacted the kitchen to prepare the feast. I confirmed this during the lunch. I ate only rice and fish from his house, not the meat. Do I owe an expiation for my oath? What is the value of the expiation in Saudi riyals? And is it permissible for me to pay it in my country?

Answer:
If you swore that he would not do anything and he did it, you owe the expiation. But if you swore that you would not eat from it, whereas you swore that he would not prepare a feast, but you swore that you would not eat from it, the situation differs depending on the two possibilities. If the first possibility is that you swore he would not prepare a feast and he did prepare it, then you owe the expiation because you broke your oath. The expiation is feeding ten poor people, with each poor person receiving one and a half kilograms of food, or clothing ten poor people, with each poor person receiving a garment, or freeing a slave if you are able to do so. However, freeing a slave is not available now. The expiation is not paid in money or riyals, whether Saudi or otherwise; it is paid in food or clothing. If you are unable to do so, then you fast for three days. This questioner says that he lives in one town, while his family and children are in another town. It is permissible for you to feed them here, paying the expiation here in Saudi Arabia, or paying it in your country; there is no objection. The important thing is that you pay it in any place to the poor, giving it to the poor among the Muslims.