This letter is about the expiation for an oath. It says: I am writing to your eminence with this question, hoping you will graciously answer it. Is it sufficient for me to pay money to ten poor people instead of feeding them, with the amount of money being equivalent to the cost of food, as the expiation for a broken oath?
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The questioner : This letter is about the expiation for an oath. It says: I am writing to your eminence with this question, hoping you will graciously answer it. Is it sufficient for me to pay money to ten poor people instead of feeding them, with the amount of money being equivalent to the cost of food, as the expiation for an oath I made? May Allah reward you all with good. The sender is M.A.T. from al-Qassim, al-Khuwayb Street.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for a person to substitute money for food, because what has been specified in the Shari'ah must be adhered to without a person going beyond it to something else. Therefore, we say that it is not permissible to pay money instead of feeding for zakat al-fitr, nor for the expiation of zihar, nor for the expiation of an oath, nor for the expiation of shaving the head during Hajj, nor for anything similar where Allah has specified feeding. The obligatory thing is to follow the text in these matters. Perhaps the Lawgiver has a consideration in these specific designations that our minds do not grasp, which some people may think is purely for the benefit of the poor, and they may consider money to be better or more desirable for the poor than feeding, and thus they deviate from feeding to money.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, we see that in such matters, one must stop at what the Shari'ah has prescribed and not go beyond what the Shari'ah has brought.
The questioner : You have done well. This letter, or rather this telegram, came from Khamis Mushait from the military city. It says: Your brother, Salim ibn Jabbar Majali or Mujhali.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for a person to substitute money for food, because what has been specified in the Shari'ah must be adhered to without a person going beyond it to something else. Therefore, we say that it is not permissible to pay money instead of feeding for zakat al-fitr, nor for the expiation of zihar, nor for the expiation of an oath, nor for the expiation of shaving the head during Hajj, nor for anything similar where Allah has specified feeding. The obligatory thing is to follow the text in these matters. Perhaps the Lawgiver has a consideration in these specific designations that our minds do not grasp, which some people may think is purely for the benefit of the poor, and they may consider money to be better or more desirable for the poor than feeding, and thus they deviate from feeding to money.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, we see that in such matters, one must stop at what the Shari'ah has prescribed and not go beyond what the Shari'ah has brought.
The questioner : You have done well. This letter, or rather this telegram, came from Khamis Mushait from the military city. It says: Your brother, Salim ibn Jabbar Majali or Mujhali.