Transforming the expiation into a mercy

Abū Hurayrah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ recalls:

A person rushed to the Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ and exclaimed, "O Messenger of Allah! I am ruined." The Prophetصَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ asked: "What has caused your ruin?" The person replied: "I had sexual intercourse with my wife during Ramadan."

The Prophetصَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ asked, "Can you free a slave?" The person said no. The Prophetصَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ further asked, "Can you fast consecutively for two months?" The person again said no. The Prophet’s صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم  next question was, "Can you feed sixty poor people?" The person replied in the negative.  

At this moment, dates were brought to the Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ . He said: "Give these away in charity." The person asked: "Should I give charity to someone more needy than us, even though no household in Medina is as needy as ours?"

The Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ smiled to the extent his blessed teeth became visible. "Go!”, he declared, “Feed them to your family.” (Thus, the expiation was fulfilled).^[1]

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                                     صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

The Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah, Imam Aḥmad Raza Khan رَحْمَۃُ اللہِ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ , after citing this hadith, highlights the greatness of the Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ  by saying:

O Muslims! Never has anyone heard of such an expiation for sin. A person broke a fast in Ramadan. Yet, the Prophet صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ  personally provided two and a quarter mann of dates and