Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sitting in a shaded place when a man from Banu Bayadah came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I am ruined." The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked him, "What has happened to you?" He replied, "I had intercourse with my wife (while fasting)." And this happened during the blessed month of Ramadan. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ordered him, "Free a slave." He said, "I do not have the means to free a slave." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Feed sixty needy people." He said, "I do not have (enough food for that) either." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Sit down." So he sat down. Then a large basket was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in which there were twenty sa’ (measures) of dates. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "Where is the man who just asked the question?" He replied, "O Messenger of Allah, I am here." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Take this and give it as charity." He said, "O Messenger of Allah, should I give it in charity to someone poorer and more needy than myself and my family? By the One Who sent you with the truth, tonight we do not even have food for the night." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Then spend it on yourself and your family." In this narration, there is no mention of fasting. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says, if these words are established that "a basket was brought in which there were twenty sa’ of food," then the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered the man who had intercourse to "give each needy person one third of a sa’ of dates." Because if twenty sa’ are divided among sixty needy people, each will get one third of a sa’. But I do not think these words are established. Because in the narration of Imam Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him), it is stated, "A basket was brought in which there were fifteen or twenty sa’ of dates." This is the report of Mansur bin Mu’tamir from Imam Zuhri. While Haql bin Ziyad narrated from Imam Awza’i from Imam Zuhri that in fifteen sa’, both narrations were later mentioned. I do not know of any scholar from Hijaz or Iraq who has given the fatwa that for the expiation of intercourse in Ramadan, each needy person should be given one third of a sa’. The scholars of Hijaz say that each needy person should be given one mudd of food, whether it is dates or other grains. While the scholars of Iraq say that each needy person should be given one sa’ of dates. As for one third of a sa’, to my knowledge, no one has said this. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that it is possible that in this narration, the command to fast for two consecutive months was omitted because this question was asked during Ramadan before the month was completed. While due to this sin, the beginning of two consecutive months of fasting is only possible after the completion of Ramadan and after one day of Shawwal has passed. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered the man who had intercourse to feed sixty needy people, because if the man is able to feed the needy, it is possible to give this expiation during Ramadan. In this way, the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave him the command which could be acted upon immediately, and did not give the command which could only be acted upon after several days and nights. And Allah knows best. And I do not recall that in any narration of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) it is mentioned that the question of the man who had intercourse was before the completion of Ramadan. Therefore, if this question was after Ramadan, then he could also be ordered to fast for two months, because at that time it is permissible and possible to fast as expiation.