Someone broke his fast ten times in Ramadan by having sexual intercourse, so he is required to expiate for this by fasting ten sets of two consecutive months. He will not be able to fast for such a long period and would like to offer the expiation of feeding the poor instead of fasting. The question is concerning the manner in which this is to be done: is there a specific type or amount of food one must give? Should he give one or two meals to every poor person? Does he have to feed the sixty poor people all at once? Can he give money instead of food?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If a Muslim has sexual intercourse with his wife during the daytime in Ramadan, then, firstly, he must turn to Allaah in repentance, and then the expiation is required. He is required to free a slave. If this is not available or affordable, then he must fast sixty days for each day of that fasting he broke by having sexual intercourse. If he cannot fast, then he is required to feed sixty poor people for each day of fasting that he has broken by having sexual intercourse. If he can only fast some days, then he must fast as many days as he is able to and expiate for the rest by feeding the poor. The juristic rule states that if an obligation cannot be fulfilled completely because of difficulty, then the part that is not difficult is not excused on account of the hardship involved in the rest. Rather, a Muslim should fulfill as much of the obligation as he is able to.

As for the feeding of sixty poor people, the person in question should pay each poor person a mudd of dates, wheat, barley, or other similar types of food. A mudd is a quantity that is equivalent to about 750 grams of rice. If one would like to provide cooked food, then one reasonable meal is enough, and the food that one provides should from what is commonly consumed in the town of the poor. One does not have to feed the sixty people all at once but may do this over separate days. However, the sooner the better!

As for the question of giving money instead of food, the majority of Muslim scholars hold that doing this does not fulfill the obligation. Hanafi scholars, however, maintain that it is permissible to give the value in money. Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah preferred the giving of money instead of food if money were of more benefit to the poor than food.

Allaah Knows best.