A person said: I will not eat such-and-such, and then he ate it. Does he owe an expiation?

Question:
May Allah protect him. We begin with this first message in this week’s episode from your sister Umm Mu’adh from Baghdad, Iraq. She says: Honorable Shaykh, if a person says, “I will not do such-and-such” or “I will not eat such-and-such,” without saying, “It is forbidden for me,” does he owe an expiation if he retracts after his intention to do so?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows: If a person says, “I will not eat this food” or “I will not wear this garment,” and he did not precede it with an oath by Allah or a declaration of prohibition, then he owes nothing. So if he eats, wears, or does what he denied doing, he owes nothing because he did not swear an oath. Yes.