A man works as a farmer for the landowner, and they had a dispute, so the farmer said, "My wife is forbidden to me if I work for you again," and then he went back to work for him out of necessity. What is the ruling?
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The questioner : He says, "I work as a farmer for a man in Iraq, and once a dispute arose between us. At that time, I was in a state of extreme anger and could not control my nerves, so I swore by divorce and by forbidden things that I would not farm for him. However, after my anger subsided, I thought about my situation and my need for work to earn a living, so I went back to work for him. Then another problem occurred with him, and we quarreled until my anger reached its peak, and I said, 'My wife is forbidden to me if I farm for you after this time.' But I also did not stay away for long; I went back to farming for him until I harvested that crop, and I did not farm for him after that. What is the ruling regarding what I did in both instances? I know that I asked and was told that nothing is required of me, but I want to be sure of what is obligatory upon me in both cases?"
The Shaykh : The ruling on what you did, which is that you swore by prohibition that you would not work for this man when your anger reached its peak, is that we should say to you: you should control yourself, restrain your anger, and calm your nerves. If you want to swear, let you swear by Allah, and do not swear by divorce or by forbidden things, for that is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded in his saying:Sahih al-Bukhari 2679 But what has already happened cannot be undone. The obligatory thing for you at that time, when you returned to work for this man for whom you had prohibited work or sworn by prohibition that you would not work for him, is that you must expiate with the expiation for an oath. The expiation for an oath is mentioned by Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Ma'idah in His saying: [Al-Ma'idah 5:89] The evidence that prohibition requires the expiation for an oath is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [At-Tahrim 66:1-2] Thus, Allah the Exalted made prohibition an oath. Accordingly, the expiation for an oath is obligatory upon you when you broke this prohibition. But my advice to you, which I repeat a second time, and to everyone who hears it, is that you should not rush into these matters and not put these things on your tongue. Rather, if you are swearing and it is necessary to swear, then swear by Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. This is a message from a Sudanese listener residing in Jeddah, who has coded his name with the letters A, S, M.
The Shaykh : The ruling on what you did, which is that you swore by prohibition that you would not work for this man when your anger reached its peak, is that we should say to you: you should control yourself, restrain your anger, and calm your nerves. If you want to swear, let you swear by Allah, and do not swear by divorce or by forbidden things, for that is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded in his saying:
Whoever has to take an oath should swear by Allah
من كان حالفاً فليحلف باللهSo its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your [own] families or clothing them or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required]
فكفارته إطعام عشرة مساكين من أوسط ما تطعمون أهليكم أو كسوتهم أو تحرير رقبة فمن لم يجد فصيام ثلاثة أيام(1) O Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking the approval of your wives? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (2) Allah has already ordained for you [Muslims] the dissolution of your oaths
يا أيها النبي لم تحرّم ما أحل الله لك تبتغي مرضاة أزوجك والله غفور رحيم قد فرض الله لكم تحلة أيمانكمThe questioner : May Allah bless you. This is a message from a Sudanese listener residing in Jeddah, who has coded his name with the letters A, S, M.