of the hadith is that the expiation is half a sa‘ for each needy person, whether it is wheat or something else. Therefore, in every case in which feeding needy people is prescribed, it is permissible to give them lunch or dinner, except in this case: you must give them food that they take possession of, in the amount of half a sa‘ for each needy person.

His statement: “Or slaughter a sheep.” The author mentions a “sheep” without qualification. Does he mean a female sheep, or something more general?

The answer is the latter: a sheep, whether male or female, goat or sheep; indeed, it may even be a seventh of a camel or a seventh of a cow, provided it is an animal valid for sacrifice. It should be distributed among the poor, and he should not eat any of it, because it is a compensatory sacrifice.

His statement: “Fasting three days.” Its apparent meaning is that consecutive fasting is not a condition, because whatever the Sacred Law leaves unrestricted must remain unrestricted. To add a condition to what the Sacred Law has left unrestricted is to restrict Allah’s legislation and impose hardship upon Allah’s servants. The Messenger ﷺ said to Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah, “Fast three days” (1), without qualifying them.

Thus, if you wish, fast every other day; and if you wish, fast them consecutively.

If someone were to say: Do you not maintain that the expiation for oaths is three consecutive days, while Allah ﷿ has left it unrestricted, saying: “But whoever cannot find [the means], then let him fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths you have sworn” [al-Ma’idah: 89]?

The answer is that it is authentically reported from Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud—may Allah be pleased with him—that he recited: “then fasting three consecutive days” (2), and Ibn Mas‘ud’s recitation