Chapter (1): Expiations

The basis for the expiation of an oath is the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus. As for the Book, it is the saying of Allah the Almighty: {Allah will not impose blame upon you for what is unintentional in your oaths, but He will impose blame upon you for what you have 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. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be grateful} (2). As for the Sunnah, it is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "If you swear an oath and then see that something else is better than it, then do that which is better, and make expiation for your oath" (3), along with other reports besides this one. The Muslims have reached a consensus on the legitimacy of expiation for an oath sworn by Allah the Almighty.

1804 - Issue: Abu al-Qasim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: (Whoever is obligated to perform an oath expiation due to a breach is given a choice; if he wishes, he may feed ten free Muslim poor persons, whether they are adults or children, provided they eat the food.)

Scholars have reached a consensus that one who breaches his oath has a choice; if he wishes, he may feed [the poor], or if he wishes, he may clothe [them], or if he wishes, he may free [a slave]. Whichever of these he performs, it shall suffice for him, because Allah the Almighty connected some of these options with others using the particle "or" (aw), which denotes choice. Ibn Abbas said: Whatever appears in the Book of Allah with "or" (aw), one has a choice regarding it, and whatever appears with "but whoever cannot find [it]," then [it follows] the first sequence. Imam Ahmad mentioned this in "al-Tafsir." What is obligatory regarding feeding is the feeding of ten poor persons, due to Allah the Almighty specifying their number, unless he cannot find ten poor persons (1), in which case its mention (2) will follow, if Allah the Almighty wills. It is considered a requirement for those to whom it is paid that they have four qualities; that they be poor, and they are the two categories to whom Zakah is paid, mentioned at the beginning of its categories (3), in His saying the Almighty: {Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy} (4). The poor (fuqara') are needy (masakin) and more, because the poor person is in greater need than the needy person, according to what we have established (5), and because poverty and neediness outside of Zakah are one thing; for both are terms for the need for what is necessary for sufficiency. For this reason, if someone were to make a bequest to the poor, or establish an endowment for them, or for the needy, it would be for both of them (6) equally. They were only made into two categories in Zakah, and a distinction was made between them, because Allah the Almighty mentioned both categories with two names, so it was necessary to distinguish between them. As for other than Zakah, each of the two terms refers to both categories, because the basis of their entitlement is the same, which is the need for that which completes sufficiency. It is not permissible to divert it to others, whether they are from the categories of Zakah or not, because Allah the Almighty commanded it for the needy and specified them for it, so it shall not be paid to anyone else. Also, because the amount paid to each individual in an expiation is a small amount, intended to fulfill their daily need for provisions, while other categories [of Zakah recipients] would not have their needs met by this due to the magnitude of their need, and if they were to spend what they receive on their needs, they would be spending it on something other than what it was prescribed for. The second is that they must be free; therefore, it does not suffice to pay it to a slave (7), a mukatab (contractual slave), or an umm walad (slave who bore her master's child). Malik and al-Shafi'i held this view. Al-Sharif Abu Ja'far chose the view of the permissibility of paying it to a mukatab on behalf of himself or others. Abu al-Khattab said: It can be inferred that it is permissible to pay it to him, based on the permissibility of manumitting him as part of one's expiation, because he receives from Zakah due to his need, so he resembles the needy person. Our argument is that Allah the Almighty counted him as a category in Zakah distinct from the category of the needy, and he is not in the same status as the needy, because his need is of (8) a different type than their need, which indicates (9) that he is not a needy person. Expiation is only for the needy, as evidenced by the verse, and because the needy person is paid so that his sufficiency is completed, while the mukatab only takes [wealth] to ransom his own neck, as for...