✦ By: ʿUbaydullah Tahir ḥafiẓahullāh
❀ Ḥadīth:
«عن ابي هريرة رضي الله عنه، قال:” بينما نحن جلوس عند النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم إذ جاءه رجل، فقال: يا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، هلكت، قال: ما لك؟ قال: وقعت على امراتي وانا صائم، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: هل تجد رقبة تعتقها؟ قال: لا، قال: فهل تستطيع ان تصوم شهرين متتابعين؟ قال: لا، فقال: فهل تجد إطعام ستين مسكينا؟ قال: لا، قال: فمكث النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فبينا نحن على ذلك، اتي النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم بعرق فيها تمر والعرق المكتل، قال: اين السائل؟ فقال: انا، قال: خذها فتصدق به، فقال الرجل: اعلى افقر مني يا رسول الله، فوالله ما بين لابتيها يريد الحرتين اهل بيت افقر من اهل بيتي، فضحك النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى بدت انيابه، ثم قال: اطعمه اهلك”. »
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated:
We were sitting with the Prophet ﷺ when a man came and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I am ruined!”
The Prophet ﷺ asked, “What happened to you?”
He replied, “I had intercourse with my wife while I was fasting.”
The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Can you find a slave to free?”
He replied, “No.”
He then asked, “Can you fast for two consecutive months?”
He replied, “No.”
He then asked, “Can you feed sixty needy people?”
He replied, “No.”
The Prophet ﷺ waited for a while. While we were still there, a basket of dates was brought to him. He ﷺ asked, “Where is the one who questioned?”
He said, “Here I am.”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Take these dates and give them in charity.”
The man asked, “To someone poorer than me, O Messenger of Allah? By Allah, there is no household between the two volcanic plains (of Madinah) poorer than mine.”
So the Prophet ﷺ laughed until his molar teeth became visible, and then he said, “Feed them to your family.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1936, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1111]
① Intercourse during the fast of Ramadan is strictly prohibited.
② Violation of this results not only in sin but also in a mandatory expiation (Kaffārah).
③ The prescribed order of Kaffārah is:
1. Freeing a slave (if available)
2. Fasting two consecutive months (without interruption)
3. Feeding sixty needy persons
④ If one cannot fulfill even the third option, then the Prophet ﷺ’s practical judgment may allow for feeding one’s own poor family in extreme poverty.
❖ Prohibition and Expiation for Intercourse During the Day in Ramadan
❀ Ḥadīth:
«عن ابي هريرة رضي الله عنه، قال:” بينما نحن جلوس عند النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم إذ جاءه رجل، فقال: يا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، هلكت، قال: ما لك؟ قال: وقعت على امراتي وانا صائم، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: هل تجد رقبة تعتقها؟ قال: لا، قال: فهل تستطيع ان تصوم شهرين متتابعين؟ قال: لا، فقال: فهل تجد إطعام ستين مسكينا؟ قال: لا، قال: فمكث النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فبينا نحن على ذلك، اتي النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم بعرق فيها تمر والعرق المكتل، قال: اين السائل؟ فقال: انا، قال: خذها فتصدق به، فقال الرجل: اعلى افقر مني يا رسول الله، فوالله ما بين لابتيها يريد الحرتين اهل بيت افقر من اهل بيتي، فضحك النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى بدت انيابه، ثم قال: اطعمه اهلك”. »
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated:
We were sitting with the Prophet ﷺ when a man came and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I am ruined!”
The Prophet ﷺ asked, “What happened to you?”
He replied, “I had intercourse with my wife while I was fasting.”
The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Can you find a slave to free?”
He replied, “No.”
He then asked, “Can you fast for two consecutive months?”
He replied, “No.”
He then asked, “Can you feed sixty needy people?”
He replied, “No.”
The Prophet ﷺ waited for a while. While we were still there, a basket of dates was brought to him. He ﷺ asked, “Where is the one who questioned?”
He said, “Here I am.”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Take these dates and give them in charity.”
The man asked, “To someone poorer than me, O Messenger of Allah? By Allah, there is no household between the two volcanic plains (of Madinah) poorer than mine.”
So the Prophet ﷺ laughed until his molar teeth became visible, and then he said, “Feed them to your family.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1936, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1111]
✔ Key Rulings:
① Intercourse during the fast of Ramadan is strictly prohibited.
② Violation of this results not only in sin but also in a mandatory expiation (Kaffārah).
③ The prescribed order of Kaffārah is:
1. Freeing a slave (if available)
2. Fasting two consecutive months (without interruption)
3. Feeding sixty needy persons
④ If one cannot fulfill even the third option, then the Prophet ﷺ’s practical judgment may allow for feeding one’s own poor family in extreme poverty.
