Is expiation required for one who swore to sit in a specific place but then arose from it fearing a policeman? Is it permissible to follow Imam Al-Shafi'i regarding the amount of expiation (one mudd of rice), and is rice alone sufficient?

Scholars have differed regarding the necessity of expiation (kaffarah) for someone who breaks an oath under duress. The Hanafis maintain that expiation is obligatory, while the Shafi'is hold that it is not obligatory. This latter view is also the correct one according to the Hanbali school. The Malikis provided a detailed explanation, stating that if one is coerced into breaking an oath by a legally recognized duress, then expiation is due; otherwise, it is not.

If standing up from a place constitutes a rightful coercion, then expiation becomes necessary, because it is not permissible for a Muslim to inconvenience people by occupying their seating spaces, or to sit in a place belonging to someone who stood up for a need and intends to return. Indeed, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "If one of you stands up," and in Abu Awanah's narration: "Whoever stands up from his sitting place, then returns to it, he has a greater right to it."

It is permissible to adopt the Shafi'i view regarding the amount of feeding, which is a mudd (a measure of volume) of the common staple food of the town for each poor person.