Chapter regarding the strict prohibition of intercourse during the day in Ramadan for one who is fasting; And the obligation of offering major expiation and the definition thereof; And that it is obligatory for both the one who can afford it and the one who cannot afford it. It remains an obligation for the one who cannot afford it until he has the means
- Narrated Abu Huraira:
A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, “I had sexual intercourse with my wife in Ramadan (while fasting).” The Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, “Can you afford to free a slave?” He replied in the negative. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, “Can you fast for two successive months?” He replied in the negative. He asked him, “Can you afford to feed sixty poor persons?” He replied in the negative. (Abu Huraira added): Then a basket full of dates was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said (to that man), “Feed (poor people) with this as an expiation.” He said, “(Should I feed it) to poorer people than us? There is no poorer house than ours between its (Medina’s) mountains.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Then feed your family with it.”
- Hadeeth of A’isha (radi Allahu anha):’
A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) in the Mosque and said ‘I am ruined’. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, ‘What has ruined you? (what have you done/with what)’. He said, ‘I had sexual relations with my wife in the month of Ramadan while observing fast’. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him, ‘Give in charity’. He said, ‘I have nothing’. Then the man sat down in the meantime, there came a person riding a donkey carrying food to the Prophet (ﷺ). [The sub narrator Abdur Rahman added ‘I did not know what kind of food he brought’]. On that the Prophet (ﷺ) asked, ‘Where is the burnt person?’. The man said, ‘Here I am’. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him, ‘Take this food and give it in charity to someone’. The man said, ‘To a poorer person than I? My family has nothing to eat’. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him, ‘Then eat it yourself’.
Shaykh ‘Ubayd al-Jaabiri (Hafidahullah) said that this chapter heading is concerning the Kaffaarah – Expiation if one has sexual relations with his spouse in the days of Ramadan when he is supposed to be fasting.
Whoever has sexual relations with his spouse during Ramadan then he has to pay a
Kaffaarah, he has to expiate for that sin. The first narration is the narration of Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) and these narrations show clearly the virtue of the man mentioned in this narration and that is Salamah ibn Safar Al-Baydawi. His virtue is because he showed so much remorse after he had fallen into this sin, the sin of actually having relations with his spouse in the day time of Ramadan, when he should be fasting. He was so sad about what had happened and had strength to come to the Messenger (ﷺ) and said to him, ‘How can I be removed from this sin?’ The major sin that he fell into. This is proof that it is not allowed for a fasting person to have relations with his spouse in the day time in Ramadan.
Furthermore, there are other narrations which clarify how repentant Salamah ibn Safar Al-Baydawi was, as there are other narrations clearly showing that he came to the Messenger (ﷺ) hitting his chest, striking his chest, pulling his ear, screaming and saying, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am destroyed ‘, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am destroyed’.
Firstly, the expiation requires the highest form that one must make in order for him to be forgiven. Secondly, the hadeeth of Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) which we have just read shows that one has to free a believing slave and if they are not able to do that, then they fast for 60 days consecutively, continuously one after the other for 60 days, that is 2 months, Then, if they are not able to do that, they should feed 60 poor people and this clearly is shown in the chapter heading.
And as for the chapter heading, it adds a further benefit, that the expiation must be fulfilled for one to be forgiven even if that person is poor, the chapter heading says that it has become a load that is upon his neck until he is able (has the ability to pay it). However, even though this is also mentioned in the Madhab of Al-Shafi’ee and other than him from the Scholars, if one was to look at the narration, the narration clearly shows that the Messenger (ﷺ) respected the one who was not able, the one who was poor and destitute. He only said to him, ‘Feed your family with it’ because he was amongst the poorest in Madinah. This is proof that this person was not able to free a believing slave nor was he able to fast 60 days consecutively nor was he able to feed 60 poor people because he was amongst the poorest in the city, this proves that even though he was poor that debt did not fall upon his neck rather the Prophet (ﷺ) said to him, feed your family with it.
This hadeeth also shows you that it is allowed for others to help a person’s expiation. If the person has expiation to pay, others can help him amongst the Muslims and even the Imam (the leader of the Muslims) can help him. By Imaam (leader) I don’t mean that leader in the Masjid rather hearing and obeying the leaders refers to the leaders of the Muslims in the righteous matters. As for the leaders of the Masajids then they are the ones that have to ensure that everybody does their duties in the Masjid, he does not have that obedience as the leader of a Muslim nation has, rather his only situation is to control the affairs of the Mosque.
The Hadeeth of A’isha (radi Allahu anha) has not actually mentioned what the expiation is but the hadeeth of Abu Hurairah does. What is known from the principles of Islam is that which is general (Mujmal) is explained by that which is specific, the specific narrations clarify the general ones. So, the narration of Abu Hurairah which is the first narration clearly shows the expiation in detail so the expiation that is mentioned in the hadeeth of A’isha goes back to follow the expiation in detail in the hadeeth of Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) and that clarifies what this narration is.
Lastly, we have some issues to mention and that is some points of benefit and so O listeners I hope that you are listening carefully to these benefits because these are very important benefits:
- The first of them is the person who has broken his fast by having sexual relations with his spouse then its upon him to fulfil that day, that he has nullified.
And the question arises is that what if somebody continues to have sexual relations in one day, what is the situation in that affair? Does he have to expiate for that many relations that he has had with the spouse or is it for each day that he has had relations?
To clarify this, for example one has had relations at Fajr time with his spouse and then he repeated it at Dhuhr time. So, what is upon him is to actually expiate for that day only. As for a person who has had relations with his spouse on different days then for each day that he had nullified due to relations, he must expiate for.
This expiation is an expiation which is from the major forms of expiations because of this major sin that he committed. And every day is considered to be a day of worship separate from the other days.