I owe the expiation for an oath, and I do not know any poor people to feed. Is it permissible for me to pay it in cash and send it to Somalia or to one of the poor countries? And if
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The questioner : May Allah reward the honorableThe Shaykh : I owe the expiation for an oath, and I do not know any poor people to feed. Is it permissible for me to pay it in cash and send it to Somalia or to one of the poor countries? And if feeding is mandatory, is there a specific food from which it must be paid? And is it permissible to pay it into a project for breaking the fast of fasting people here, or what should I do?
The Shaykh : As for the specific food, Allah has specified it in His saying:[Al-Ma'idah 5:89] And the middle of what we eat today is rice. And as for when one does not find poor people, Allah has also specified the ruling, saying: [Al-Baqarah 2:196] If you do not find poor people, or you find poor people but do not find food, or you find food but do not find money to buy it with, then you move to the next level, which is to fast for three consecutive days. It is not valid to send it to other countries because you do not trust that the one who takes it will distribute it to ten poor people. It is obligatory to feed ten poor people. Yes.
Likewise, the project for breaking the fast of fasting people does not involve feeding, because first, you are not certain that your expiation will be eaten by ten people. Your expiation might be in a plate on which only three people sit, for example. Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the specific food, Allah has specified it in His saying:
from the average of that which you feed your [own] families
من أوسط ما تطعمون أهليكمAnd whoever cannot find [or afford such an animal] - then a fast of three days
فمن لم يجد فصيام ثلاثة أيامLikewise, the project for breaking the fast of fasting people does not involve feeding, because first, you are not certain that your expiation will be eaten by ten people. Your expiation might be in a plate on which only three people sit, for example. Yes.