Is it permissible to give an expiation for an oath (feeding ten needy persons) to a poor family consisting of six individuals, by giving them an amount of food (a sack of rice and two chickens) that suffices them for more than two meals, knowing that it is permissible to feed five needy persons twice, and is it necessary to inform them that this food is an expiation for an oath?

It is not sufficient for the expiation of an oath to give it to fewer than ten needy persons. It is not a condition to inform the needy person that what was given to him is an expiation, unless he would not accept it if he knew its true nature. The mentioned amount (five kilograms of rice) is not sufficient to feed ten needy persons. The sufficient amount is one mudd for each needy person (750 grams), and it is more cautious to give two mudds for each needy person (one and a half kilograms of rice) if the food is not wheat.