I swore, saying, "By the Great Allah, I will not take a watermelon," and then I took it
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The second question of Fatwa No. ( 19672 )
Q 2: A Muslim brother wanted to give me something to eat (watermelon), so I swore, saying: "By the Great Allah, I will not take a watermelon," and then I took it . What type of oath is this, and do I owe an expiation?
A 2: If one swears by any of the names of Allah or any of His attributes, voluntarily, regarding a possible future event, it is a binding oath. Since what you swore to leave off is not a sin, it is obligatory for you to fulfill what you bound yourself to. If you wish to break your oath by doing what you swore to leave off, and you see that the good lies in that, you may break your oath, and it is obligatory for you to pay the expiation for an oath, which is feeding ten poor people, giving each poor person one and a half kilograms of rice or the staple food of the country, or clothing them, or freeing a believing slave. If you are unable to do that, you fast for three days. Evidence for this is
what al-Bukhari al-Bukhari recorded in (his Sahih), vol. 7, p. 216, from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6622 . We advise you to guard your oaths and not to swear often; for Allah the Exalted said: , and He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:224] . And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q 2: A Muslim brother wanted to give me something to eat (watermelon), so I swore, saying: "By the Great Allah, I will not take a watermelon," and then I took it . What type of oath is this, and do I owe an expiation?
A 2: If one swears by any of the names of Allah or any of His attributes, voluntarily, regarding a possible future event, it is a binding oath. Since what you swore to leave off is not a sin, it is obligatory for you to fulfill what you bound yourself to. If you wish to break your oath by doing what you swore to leave off, and you see that the good lies in that, you may break your oath, and it is obligatory for you to pay the expiation for an oath, which is feeding ten poor people, giving each poor person one and a half kilograms of rice or the staple food of the country, or clothing them, or freeing a believing slave. If you are unable to do that, you fast for three days. Evidence for this is
what al-Bukhari al-Bukhari recorded in (his Sahih), vol. 7, p. 216, from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
O `Abdur-Rahman bin Samura! Do not seek to be a ruler, because if you are given authority for it, then you will be held responsible for it, but if you are given it without asking for it, then you will be helped in it (by Allah): and whenever you take an oath to do something and later you find that something else is better than the first, then do the better one and make expiation for your oath.
يا عبد الرحمن بن سمرة : لا تسأل الإمارة، فإنك إن أوتيتها عن مسألة وكلت إليها، وإن أوتيتها من غير مسألة أعنت عليها، وإذا حلفت على يمين فرأيت غيرها خيرًا منها فكفر عن يمينك وأت الذي هو خيرAnd keep your oaths
وَاحْفَظُوا أَيْمَانَكُمْAnd do not make [your oath by] Allah an excuse
وَلاَ تَجْعَلُوا اللَّهَ عُرْضَةً لأَيْمَانِكُمْ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.