What is thoughtless (laghw) in an oath, and is expiation obligatory for one who swore an oath to do something that later became clear to him was an act of disobedience to Allah the Almighty? What is the expiation for an oath, and is it permissible to pay it in cash, or to give it to the Zakat fund or the needy student fund?

Most scholars hold that an annulled oath does not require expiation. As for an oath concerning a forbidden act, one must avoid the forbidden act and offer expiation for the oath.

The expiation for an oath is feeding ten poor people, one mudd for each poor person. This must be given as food and is not permissible as money according to the majority of scholars.

It is not permissible to pay the expiation for an oath into a zakat fund or a fund for needy students of knowledge, due to the difference in their designated recipients and the potential issues arising therefrom.