Ruling on paying money in lieu of feeding in expiation
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Question:
Is it permissible to expiate an oath sworn by Allah by giving money to one or more poor Muslims, instead of feeding ten needy people? And what is the value of this amount?
Answer:
The expiation for an oath has been specified by Allah in His Noble Book, so no one may contradict the text of the Book of Allah. Allah the Exalted says: [Al-Ma'idah: 89].
So Allah clarified the expiation and defined its type, so no one may contradict that. It is not permissible to offer a needy person food, money, or anything else; rather, it is necessary to provide ten poor people—as the verse specifies—with food, the amount being half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is approximately one and a half kilograms of the staple food of the land, such as dates, rice, wheat, or otherwise. Or they may be invited to a lunch or dinner meal, whether gathered together or separately, until the ten are completed. Or they may be clothed, each one receiving what suffices him for prayer, such as an izar (lower garment) and rida' (upper garment), or a shirt. Or a believing slave may be freed. If one is unable to do all of these, then one must fast for three days.
This is the expiation that Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) has specified, and no one may contradict that. Even if one feeds them separately—five today and five tomorrow, or four—there is nothing wrong with that. It is not a condition of this that they gather together. Even if one distributes it among two or three houses, there is nothing wrong with that. The conclusion is that it is necessary to provide ten in terms of food and clothing.
Is it permissible to expiate an oath sworn by Allah by giving money to one or more poor Muslims, instead of feeding ten needy people? And what is the value of this amount?
Answer:
The expiation for an oath has been specified by Allah in His Noble Book, so no one may contradict the text of the Book of Allah. Allah the Exalted says:
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. But guard your oaths
لاَ يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللّهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ وَلَكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ الأَيْمَانَ فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَاكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلاَثَةِ أَيَّامٍ ذَلِكَ كَفَّارَةُ أَيْمَانِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ وَاحْفَظُواْ أَيْمَانَكُمْSo Allah clarified the expiation and defined its type, so no one may contradict that. It is not permissible to offer a needy person food, money, or anything else; rather, it is necessary to provide ten poor people—as the verse specifies—with food, the amount being half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is approximately one and a half kilograms of the staple food of the land, such as dates, rice, wheat, or otherwise. Or they may be invited to a lunch or dinner meal, whether gathered together or separately, until the ten are completed. Or they may be clothed, each one receiving what suffices him for prayer, such as an izar (lower garment) and rida' (upper garment), or a shirt. Or a believing slave may be freed. If one is unable to do all of these, then one must fast for three days.
This is the expiation that Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) has specified, and no one may contradict that. Even if one feeds them separately—five today and five tomorrow, or four—there is nothing wrong with that. It is not a condition of this that they gather together. Even if one distributes it among two or three houses, there is nothing wrong with that. The conclusion is that it is necessary to provide ten in terms of food and clothing.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.