Is it permissible for the one who commits zhihar to choose any of the three types of expiation, or is he obligated to follow the sequence mentioned in the Qur’an? And how is his ability to fast determined? And does embracing or kissing his wife during the fast affect the validity of the expiation?

The expiation for ẓihār (a pre-Islamic form of divorce) is ordered: first, freeing a slave; if one is unable to do so, then fasting for two consecutive months; if one is unable to do that, then feeding sixty poor persons. The inability to fast can be due to illness, old age, or intense desire. Touching, caressing, and kissing before performing the expiation is forbidden, but it does not break the continuity of the fast unless something occurs that invalidates it.