The Method of Feeding and Clothing in the Expiation for an Oath

The question: The last message in this session came from several senders. The senders—fellow brothers: Muhammad Sarur al-Shamri, Abdullah Ismail, Muhammad Muhammad al-Yamami, and Sa'id al-Shahri—say: Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah: 89]. First, they ask: What is meant by feeding? Is it sufficient to give them dates or bread, or must I give the poor person salt, oil, meat, sauce, spices, onions, and so on? Or should I prepare a lunch and invite the poor to it? Or should I give the needy prepared food in their homes? And what is the method of clothing? Is it just a garment, or a garment, a headscarf, a cap, a waistband, and a shirt, and so on? Please give us a ruling, may Allah reward you with good, and enlighten us, for we are confused about our matter?
The answer: The scholars and people of exegesis have clarified the meaning of feeding, and that it includes what the questioner mentioned. It includes giving them raw food that the poor person can prepare in his home. For example, you give them half a sa' of rice, of wheat, or of barley, and the poor person disposes of it as he wishes. This is the best of what has been said regarding this: half a sa', approximately one and a half kilograms, of these grains that are the staple food of the people of the land, meaning the staple food of his country. Half a sa' of the staple food of the land, close to one and a half kilograms. Similarly, dates: half a sa' of dates, or raisins, whatever the staple food of the land is. He also has the option to feed them something prepared in his home, meaning prepared cooked food, such as bread and its accompaniment. He can provide them lunch and dinner, such as cooked rice with meat; he can provide them dinner and feed them. All of this is good. If he prepares food for them from rice or wheat, or bread with its accompaniment, that is good, and if he invites them to it and they eat, that is sufficient.
The point is that feeding includes both of these: it includes giving them food to eat in their homes, and it includes inviting them to food in his home, preparing it for them, or doing so in a hotel or a restaurant. There is no harm in that.
As for clothing, it is what suffices for prayer, as the scholars have pointed out. The clothing that he wears and which suffices for him in prayer, such as an izar (lower garment) and a rida' (upper garment). He gives an izar and a rida', that is good. He gives them a shirt; a headscarf is not required, there is no obligation for a headscarf. If he gives him a shirt, that is sufficient, or an izar and a rida', or trousers and a rida'. All of this suffices, because this suffices for him in prayer, and it is complete clothing. Trousers and a rida', or an izar and a rida', or a shirt are clothing. Yes.
And if he completes it and gives him, along with the shirt, a turban—headscarf—that is good. This is an additional good. Yes.
The presenter: But regarding feeding, if he gives him half a sa', is it not required for him, for example, oils or salts?
The Shaykh: It is not required for him.
The presenter: Is half a sa' sufficient for him?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh: For this reason, in the Farewell Pilgrimage, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the meaning of the saying of His Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He: [Al-Baqarah: 196], he explained the charity and that it is half a sa' of dates for every poor person. So if he gives half a sa' of dates or of other grains, that is sufficient. Yes.