Explanation of the expiation for an oath and interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "So its expiation is feeding ten poor people from the middle of what you feed your families, or clothing them, or freeing a slave. And whoever does not find..."

The Shaykh : So what is the expiation for an oath? Listen to it from the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Ma'idah: .
The student: From the middle of what you feed.

The Shaykh : Yes, . Three things. . This is the expiation for an oath. Allah the Exalted began with feeding, because it is usually the easiest, then with clothing, because it is usually harder than feeding. Then with freeing a slave, because it is harder than both. This indicates that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) wants to make things easy and facilitate them for His servants. So it is said to the one who is obligated to pay the expiation for an oath: You have the choice to feed ten poor people from the middle of what you feed your family, or clothe them, or free a slave, meaning emancipate it. If you do not find [the means], then fasting three consecutive days. And among the blessings of Allah is that He made the fasting three days. He did not make it ten, as He made the feeding ten, because fasting may be difficult for a person, so Allah made it easy in this regard and made it only three days.