Is it sufficient to place what is enough to feed ten needy people in the baskets of charitable organizations as expiation for an oath, given the uncertainty of how it will be distributed among the required number?
The majority of scholars stipulate that the expiation for an oath (kaffarat al-yameen) must be given to ten poor people, and the expiation for ẓihār (a form of divorce) and sexual intercourse (during Ramadan while fasting) must be given to sixty poor people. They hold that it is not permissible to give it to fewer than this number, citing the verse: {Its expiation is the feeding of ten poor people}. Meanwhile, Al-Awza'i permitted giving it to a single poor person, and Abu 'Ubayd permitted it for a very needy household. The Aṣḥāb al-Ra’y (the Hanafis) permitted giving the payment repeatedly to a single poor person over ten days for the expiation of an oath, or over sixty days for the expiation of ẓihār and sexual intercourse, but it is not permissible to give it to him in a single day. To clear one's conscience with certainty, it is preferable to follow the view of the majority, which is the more cautious and stronger in evidence, stipulating the obligation to give the expiation to ten poor people.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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