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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Fasting three days as expiation for an oath: Must they be consecutive?

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Fasting three days as expiation for an oath: Must they be consecutive?

The Shaykh : First, it must be known that fasting three days as expiation for an oath is not permissible except for one who is unable to feed ten poor people, clothe them, or free a slave, based on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
Allah will not impose blame upon you for what is meaningless in your oaths, but He will impose blame upon you for [breaking] what you intended of oaths. So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your [own] families or clothing them or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required]. That is the expiation for oaths when you have sworn لا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللَّهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا عَقَّدْتُمُ الأَيْمَانَ فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَاكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ فَمَنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ ذَلِكَ كَفَّارَةُ أَيْمَانِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ
[Al-Ma'idah 5:89]
If one is unable to perform the three options: feeding, clothing, and freeing, then it is obligatory for him to fast.
The stronger position is that these days must be consecutive, based on the recitation of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him):
And complete the Hajj and 'umrah for Allah. But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal has reached its place of slaughter. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head [making shaving necessary must offer] a ransom of fasting [three days] or charity or sacrifice. And when you are secure, then whoever performs 'umrah [during the Hajj months] followed by Hajj [offers] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And whoever cannot find [or afford such an animal] - then a fast of three days during Hajj and of seven when you have returned [home]. Those are ten complete [days]. This is for those whose family is not in the area of al-Masjid al-Haram. And fear Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty. فصيام ثلاثة أيام متتابعة
[Al-Baqarah 2:196]
However, if one separates them due to an excuse, such as fasting the first day and then falling ill, making fasting difficult for him, so he breaks his fast the next day and then resumes fasting after this illness ends, there is no blame on him, because consecutiveness is not broken if the separation is due to a valid legal excuse.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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