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What is the ruling on and expiation for a person who had intercourse with his wife in Ramadan multiple times and in different years? Is it permissible to feed Muslims instead of the needy if the latter are not available? Is it a condition that the needy be Muslims? Can you help them in feeding the needy by transferring the amount to you?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Whoever has intercourse with his wife during the daytime in Ramadan, intentionally and knowing it is forbidden, is liable for the major expiation (kaffarah kubra), which is: freeing a slave. If he cannot find one, then fasting for two consecutive months. If he is unable to do that, then feeding sixty poor people. As for one who has intercourse forgetfully, or ignorantly (unless his ignorance is due to his own negligence), or under duress, he does not break his fast and there is no expiation upon him. Whoever does not know the number of times intercourse occurred should make an effort to estimate the number and expiate accordingly. The feeding should be for poor and needy Muslims, and one can appoint a person or a charity organization to deliver it to them.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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