What is your opinion of the one who says that if a man has intercourse with his wife during Ramadan, or while he is in the state of ihram, and he is ignorant, that he owes an expiation, and that only the sin is lifted?

The questioner : Some scholars hold that if a pilgrim has intercourse, it invalidates his Hajj, and that he must perform the full ritual bath for major ritual impurity, and that only the sin and the financial penalty are lifted.

The Shaykh : What?

The questioner : Some scholars cited evidence.

The Shaykh : I say: He must perform the full ritual bath for major ritual impurity, and what is prohibited is...

The questioner : ...that he does not commit a sin.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : How do we respond to that?

The Shaykh : We respond to those who say that if a person has intercourse while fasting in Ramadan, or while in the state of ihram, that he owes an expiation and the sin is lifted from him, with two things: a textual matter and a theoretical matter. As for the textual matter, we say: Allah the Exalted said in His Book: ربّنا لا تؤاخذنا إن نسينا أو أخطأنا فقال الله تعالى: قد فعلت Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or make a mistake. So Allah the Exalted said: I have done so., and He the Exalted said: And this was not intentional, and a practical application of this rule took place, which is not being held accountable for ignorance and forgetfulness. The Companions broke their fast during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) on a cloudy day, and then the sun appeared, and he did not order them to make up the fast, because they were ignorant and thought that the sun had set. 'Adi ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to fast, so he placed two ropes under his pillow, which are the two ropes by which a camel's hand is tied, one black and the other white. He kept looking at them, and when the white thread became distinct from the black thread for him, he abstained, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not order him to repeat it. And Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam spoke during the prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to repeat it. So the important point is that we say: these proofs indicate that if a person does something forbidden while ignorant or forgetful, he owes nothing.
As for the theoretical proof by which we respond to them, we say: If the sin is lifted, then the expiation must be lifted, because the expiation is only for avoiding the punishment of this sin. So if there is no sin, there is no punishment.
And the generality of the pardon in His saying, the Exalted: includes the pardon of the sin and the pardon of the expiation. Yes.