Explaining the method of feeding in place of fasting for the one who is unable
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Q298: The questioner says: The expiation of feeding in place of fasting for the one who cannot fast the entire month, is it permissible to pay it all at once to thirty poor people in one day, at the beginning of the month, or at the end, or in the middle, and is it permissible to pay it
to fewer than thirty poor people, and is it permissible to gather thirty poor people for a meal of lunch, or dinner, or an iftar in Ramadan?
A298: It is permissible to pay the charity for all the days of Ramadan for the one who cannot fast due to old age. It is permissible to pay the expiation for the days in advance at the beginning of the month, and it is permissible to delay it to the end of the month, and it is permissible in the middle of the month. It is permissible to pay it all at once, and it is permissible to pay it in installments. It is permissible to pay it to thirty, and it is permissible to pay it to fewer. The number is not required to be thirty; rather, it is paid to the poor and the needy. As for gathering the poor for food by cooking food that suffices for thirty days, corresponding to the number of days he broke his fast, and gathering the poor for it, the majority do not permit this. This is because the requirement is to give ownership of this food to the poor person so that he may dispose of it as he wishes, whether by eating it, selling it, giving it as a gift, or otherwise. Giving him uncooked food is more beneficial for his disposal, whereas cooked food he can only benefit from by eating it. Some scholars permitted cooking food for the expiation and inviting the poor to whom it is to be paid to eat it, feeding them dinner or lunch according to their number. Some scholars permitted this, but the majority, as we mentioned,
are of the opinion that it is not permissible. The reasoning is that the poor person cannot fully benefit from this thing; he only benefits from it by eating it, so it is a narrower benefit than giving uncooked food. And a person should be cautious in the matters of his religion and his worship.
to fewer than thirty poor people, and is it permissible to gather thirty poor people for a meal of lunch, or dinner, or an iftar in Ramadan?
A298: It is permissible to pay the charity for all the days of Ramadan for the one who cannot fast due to old age. It is permissible to pay the expiation for the days in advance at the beginning of the month, and it is permissible to delay it to the end of the month, and it is permissible in the middle of the month. It is permissible to pay it all at once, and it is permissible to pay it in installments. It is permissible to pay it to thirty, and it is permissible to pay it to fewer. The number is not required to be thirty; rather, it is paid to the poor and the needy. As for gathering the poor for food by cooking food that suffices for thirty days, corresponding to the number of days he broke his fast, and gathering the poor for it, the majority do not permit this. This is because the requirement is to give ownership of this food to the poor person so that he may dispose of it as he wishes, whether by eating it, selling it, giving it as a gift, or otherwise. Giving him uncooked food is more beneficial for his disposal, whereas cooked food he can only benefit from by eating it. Some scholars permitted cooking food for the expiation and inviting the poor to whom it is to be paid to eat it, feeding them dinner or lunch according to their number. Some scholars permitted this, but the majority, as we mentioned,
are of the opinion that it is not permissible. The reasoning is that the poor person cannot fully benefit from this thing; he only benefits from it by eating it, so it is a narrower benefit than giving uncooked food. And a person should be cautious in the matters of his religion and his worship.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.