Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! I am ruined. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What has ruined you?" He said: I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Are you able to free a slave?" He said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Can you fast two consecutive months?" He said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Will you feed sixty poor people?" He said: No. Then he sat down, and a basket of dates was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give this in charity." He said: There is no one in this valley more in need than me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled until his (peace and blessings be upon him) molar teeth became visible, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Go and feed it to your family."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8040
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: A man has had intercourse with his wife in Ramadan. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Do you have the means to free a slave?" He said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Can you fast two consecutive months?" He said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you have the means to feed sixty poor people?" He said: No. The narrator said: A basket of dates was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was a large basket, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Feed this on your own behalf." He said: There is no household between these two mountains more in need than us. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then feed it to your family."
Muhammad bin Muslim said: This was a concession for him alone; whoever meets with an incident like his should do as he has been commanded.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8041
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Free a slave." He said: I cannot find one. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Fast two consecutive months." He said: I am not able to. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then feed sixty poor people." He said: I do not have the means. A basket containing fifteen sa' of dates was brought to him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take this and feed it on your own behalf." He said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! There is no household between these two mountains more in need than us. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take it and feed your family."
And the basket contained fifteen sa' of dates.
It seems most likely that the estimate of the basket as fifteen sa' comes from a narration of Amr bin Shu'ayb, and Allah knows best.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8042
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that a man said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan. He asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for a ruling, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Can you find a slave?" He said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Can you fast two months?" He said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then feed sixty poor people."
Ibn Bukayr added the word "mutatabi'ayn" (consecutive) in his narration.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8043
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that a man came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I am ruined. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How so?" He said: I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Can you find a slave?" He said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Are you able to fast two consecutive months?" He said: O Messenger of Allah! No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Are you able to feed sixty poor people?" He said: No. Then a basket of dates was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take it and give it in charity." He said: To someone more in need than myself? By the One who sent you (peace and blessings be upon him) with the truth, there is no one between these two mountains more in need than us. The narrator said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled, then said: "Take it to your family."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8044
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said that he was ruined. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "What has happened to you?" He said: I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan. A basket of dates, called "al-araq", was brought to him (peace and blessings be upon him), with dates in it, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Where is the one who was ruined?" A man stood up, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give this in charity."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8045
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting in the shade of Fari' when a man from Banu Bayadah came to him and said: I am ruined, for I had intercourse with my wife in the month of Ramadan. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Free a slave." He said: I cannot find one. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Feed sixty poor people." He said: I do not have it. Then a basket of dates containing twenty sa' was brought to him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give it in charity." He said: We do not have food for tonight's dinner. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then take it back to your family."
The Shaykh said: The additional details in this narration indicate the soundness of the memorisation of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and of those below him regarding this story. His saying "containing twenty sa'" is a report that reached Muhammad bin Ja'far; Muhammad bin Ja'far said: I was told afterwards that that charity was twenty sa' of dates. In the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), fifteen sa' is narrated, and that is more authentic; and Allah knows best.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8046