Is it permissible for my husband to substitute feeding sixty poor people for the fasting required as expiation for ẓihār, and should the feeding be done all at once or separately, and what is the correct way to feed them?

The expiation for ẓihār (a pre-Islamic form of divorce by which a husband declares his wife to be like his mother’s back) is incumbent upon anyone who wishes to return to his wife. It is to be offered in sequential order: first, freeing a slave; if unable to do so, then fasting for two consecutive months; if unable to do that, then feeding sixty poor people.

It is not permissible for the husband to move from fasting to feeding unless he is genuinely unable to fast due to illness, old age, or an intense desire that prevents him from abstaining from intercourse. However, the wife's inability to endure separation from him is not an excuse to transition to feeding. She should go to her parents' house, or the husband should travel, if they fear falling into what is forbidden, because the man who has committed ẓihār is prohibited from having intercourse with his wife and its preliminaries until he expiates.

The amount of food to be given is one mudd of wheat for each poor person, or half a ṣāʿ of dates or barley. It is permissible to give the food raw or cooked, on one day or on separate days.