flour, it is permissible; however, he should increase the amount beyond the [standard] (5) mudd by an amount that would equal the mudd in grain, or dispense it by weight, because grain has volume, so there is more in a volume of grain than there is in a volume of flour. al-Athram said: It was said (6) to Abu Abd Allah: Should he give wheat and flour? He said: As for what has come down [in the tradition], it is wheat; however, if he gives them flour by weight, it is permissible. al-Shafi'i said: It does not suffice, because it is not in its state of perfection, due to what is lost from it of the various aspects of utility, so it is not permissible, like harisah (porridge). We respond with the saying of Allah the Exalted: "...its expiation is the feeding of ten needy persons from the average of that which you feed your families." Flour is among the average of what one feeds his family. Furthermore, flour consists of parts of the wheat, and he has spared them the trouble of grinding it; he has prepared it and brought it closer to being consumed. It is distinct from harisah, for that spoils quickly and it is not possible to benefit from it for anything other than eating in that state, unlike our issue. Regarding Ahmad, there are two narrations concerning the dispensing of bread; one of them is that it suffices. al-Khiraqi chose this, and Ahmad stated it explicitly in the narration of al-Athram, for he said: I said to Abu Abd Allah: A man took thirteen and one-third ratls of flour, which is the expiation for an oath, and he baked it for the needy, then divided the bread among ten needy persons. Does that suffice him? He said: That is more pleasing to me, and it is what the hadith came concerning—that he should feed them a mudd of wheat—and as for this, if he does it, I hope that it suffices him. I said: Allah the Exalted only said: "...the feeding of ten needy persons." So he has fed ten needy persons and fulfilled the mudd for them. He said: I hope that it suffices him. This is the opinion of some of the companions of al-Shafi'i. al-Athram reported in another place that a man asked Ahmad about the expiation, and he said: Should I feed them bread and dates? He said: There are no dates in it. He said: Then bread? He said: No, but rather wheat or flour by weight, a ratl and a third for every needy person. The manifest meaning of this is that it does not suffice him, and this is the madhhab of al-Shafi'i, because it has departed from the state of perfection and storability, so it resembles harisah. The first [view] is better, because Allah the Exalted said: "...the feeding of ten needy persons from the average of that which you feed your families." This is from the average of what he feeds his family, and storability is not