Types of Expiations and Their Recipients

Question:
One of the brothers asks: If he has many debts, what is the meaning of debt? I wanted to expiate for all of what is upon him. Is it permissible for me to pay one sa' of rice to one poor person for each debt, meaning one sa' to one poor person for each debt? And is it paid to the beggars if no one else is found? And is it paid to the man and his children, with each of them receiving a sa'?

Answer:
This is a general statement. What is the nature of the debt? The debt is what is paid to its owners. The asker did not clarify his question. If the debt is in currency, the currency is given to its owners, whether gold, silver, or paper money. If the debt is food, the food is given to its owners. If the debt is coffee or sugar, it is given to its owners.
This question is about the sa' measures, which are for zakah and expiations. If he has an expiation for zihar, or an expiation for intercourse during Ramadan, and he turned away from fasting because he cannot fast for two months, he pays the expiation to each poor person as half a sa'. It is not a full sa'; half a sa' is sufficient. Each person receives half a sa' of the local staple food for the expiation in his liability, whether for zihar with his wife, making her forbidden to him, or for intercourse in Ramadan. In that case, he must free a slave. If he is unable, he fasts for two consecutive months. If he is unable, he feeds sixty poor people, which is thirty sa' of the local staple food, with each sa' divided between two people. This is where the sa' measures apply.
Likewise, if he delays fasting Ramadan without a valid excuse and does not make it up until the next Ramadan comes, he must make up the fasting of Ramadan that he neglected, and feed one poor person for each day, in addition to making up the fasts. He gives half a sa' for each day, collects it, and gives it to one poor person.
The beggars are given from zakah because they are poor. If the beggars are... and they claim to be poor, they are given from zakah and expiations because they are among those entitled to it, falling under the statement: [Surat al-Tawbah: 60], unless you know that this beggar is a liar and that he is rich. In that case, you rebuke him and say to him: Fear Allah. It is not permissible for you to beg while you are rich. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: He is only asking for fire—we seek refuge in Allah—narrated by Muslim in the Sahih.
And he said (peace and blessings be upon him): Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. So if he is begging and you know that he is a liar and that he is rich, do not give him from zakah, nor give him voluntary charity. Rather, rebuke him and say to him: This is forbidden for you; it is not permissible for you. And Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Dhariyat: 19], meaning the beggar who is in dire straits, or the one who is known to be poor.
The beggars are of three categories: a category known to be poor, who is given; a category whose status is unknown, who is given; and a third category known to be rich, who is not given because he is unjust to himself. He does not deserve zakah, and it is not permissible for him to beg.
As for the poor beggar and the unknown beggar whose status you do not know, you give him from zakah and from other sources, because it appears that he is poor. And Allah said: [Surat al-Dhariyat: 19].
Some scholars said that the known right is zakah. Others said that it is a matter in addition to zakah, as a favor from them and kindness to the poor, the needy, the beggars, and the deprived. The deprived is the poor person who has been deprived of wealth.