What is the meaning of "Do not make Allah an excuse for your oaths"?
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Question : The third question: Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah 2:224] What is the meaning of this verse, with an example?
Answer : All right, the meaning of the verse is: Do not let oaths prevent you from doing acts of obedience, avoiding what is forbidden, and making peace between people. This is because some people, when told to do something good, say, "I have sworn not to do it." Allah has forbidden this. An example is a man who swore not to speak to so-and-so, and he was told, "Fear Allah, do not boycott your brother." He said, "I have sworn not to speak to him." We tell him: Do not make Allah an excuse for your oath; speak to him and expiate for your oath. This is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6718
And do not make [your oath by] Allah an excuse against being righteous and fearing Allah and making peace among people. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
وَلَا تَجْعَلُوا اللَّهَ عُرْضَةً لِّأَيْمَانِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوا وَتَتَّقُوا وَتُصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌAnswer : All right, the meaning of the verse is: Do not let oaths prevent you from doing acts of obedience, avoiding what is forbidden, and making peace between people. This is because some people, when told to do something good, say, "I have sworn not to do it." Allah has forbidden this. An example is a man who swore not to speak to so-and-so, and he was told, "Fear Allah, do not boycott your brother." He said, "I have sworn not to speak to him." We tell him: Do not make Allah an excuse for your oath; speak to him and expiate for your oath. This is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
By Allah, Allah willing, if I ever take an oath, and then see that another is better than the first, I make expiration for my (dissolved) oath, and do what is better and make expiration.
صلى الله عليه وسلم وَاللَّهِ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لاَ أَحْلِفُ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَأَرَى غَيْرَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِلاَّ كَفَّرْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي وَأَتَيْتُ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ،
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[117 من 219] ما معنى ولا تجعلوا الله عرضة لأيمانكم؟!! الشيخ ابن عثيمين - مشروع كبار العلماء — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.