What is the ruling regarding mandatory sequential fasting when the freeing of a slave is impossible as atonement for sexual intercourse in Ramadan?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Fasting
Primary text
Fasting for two consecutive months is obligatory upon the person who cannot free a slave as expiation for sexual intercourse during Ramadan. There is no known disagreement on the obligation of fasting in this expiation, save for an anomalous opinion contradicting the established Sunnah. The requirement that the fasting must be continuous for two months is established based on reliable reports. If the person begins the required act of atonement (fasting) and then gains the ability to free a slave, the obligation shifts back to freeing the slave. This is because the Prophet, peace be upon him, inquired only about what the offender could manage after the matter of freeing the slave was mentioned, not what he could manage at the time of the act, which was the time of obligation. Furthermore, the substitute (fasting) was undertaken before possessing the means for the primary obligation (manumission), thus mandating the primary obligation.
Supporting text
If the individual begins the fasting before gaining the means for manumission, they are not required to abandon the fast to free the slave, although the manumission will suffice if they choose it, rendering them as if they fulfilled the primary obligation first. Abu Hanifa holds that the person must abandon the fast and free the slave, comparing it to a dry ablution (tayammum) invalidating upon finding water, because the original obligation became possible before the fulfillment of the substitute obligation. However, the established view holds that since the obligation incumbent upon him was entered into, it is valid, similar to sustained inability. This differs from tayammum because tayammum only conceals impurity, whereas fasting entirely removes the consequence of intercourse. Moreover, the extended duration of fasting makes combining it with manumission burdensome, unlike ablution and tayammum.