If a man does not remember the number of his oaths, how does he expiate them?
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The questioner : A young man took a number of oaths and did not expiate for these oaths. After a period of time, he wanted to expiate for each of these oaths. But he was unable to remember the number of these oaths. What should he do?
The Shaykh : Yes. First, it must be known that if the matter sworn upon is one thing, then the expiation is one, even if the oaths are multiple. If the matter sworn upon is one thing, the expiation is one. For example, if a man says, "By Allah, I will not speak to so-and-so," and someone says to him, "O so-and-so, so-and-so is a good man; how can you swear not to speak to him?" and he says, "By Allah, I will not speak to him." Then another man comes to him and says, "O so-and-so, I have heard that you swore you would not speak to so-and-so, and he is a good man. Speak to him." And he says, "By Allah, I will not speak to him." How many oaths is that?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : And the matter sworn upon is one. So if he speaks to him, he is only required to pay one expiation. Why? Because the matter sworn upon is one thing. Likewise, if the oath is one and the matter sworn upon is multiple. An example of that is: he says, "By Allah, I will not wear this garment, I will not eat this meat, and I will not leave the house." How many oaths is that?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : No.
The student: One.
The Shaykh : The oath is one and the matter sworn upon is three. So he is only required to pay one expiation. Thus, the rule is: if the matter sworn upon is one thing, its expiation is one, even if the oaths are multiple. And if the oath is one, its expiation is one, even if the matter sworn upon is multiple. However, if the oaths are multiple and the matter sworn upon is multiple, such as if he says, "By Allah, I will not wear this garment. By Allah, I will not eat this food. By Allah, I will not leave the house." Here, there is multiplicity in the oaths and in the matter sworn upon. So if he breaks the oath, he is required to pay an expiation for each one. How many expiations is he required to pay in the example we mentioned? Three expiations. And some scholars said: one expiation is sufficient for him. And based on this opinion, we say: if a person takes many oaths and does not know how many they are, what is sufficient for him? One expiation. Because some scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, said: as long as the cause is one thing, one expiation is sufficient. And they analogized that to what? They said: a person urinates, defecates, passes wind, sleeps, and eats camel meat. How many types is that? Five types, and one ablution is sufficient for him. But what we see is that whenever the oaths are multiple and the matter sworn upon is multiple, he is required to pay an expiation for each oath. And we say to the questioner: you are not required to expiate except for what you know. And for what you are in doubt about, there is no expiation on you for it. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. The questioner asks: what is the ruling?
The Shaykh : There is a benefit in this: if a person says, "By Allah, if Allah wills, I will not leave this house," and he leaves, is there an expiation on him or not? There is no expiation on him. Why? Because he said, "if Allah wills." And whenever a person couples "if Allah wills" with his oath, there is no expiation on him. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Yes. First, it must be known that if the matter sworn upon is one thing, then the expiation is one, even if the oaths are multiple. If the matter sworn upon is one thing, the expiation is one. For example, if a man says, "By Allah, I will not speak to so-and-so," and someone says to him, "O so-and-so, so-and-so is a good man; how can you swear not to speak to him?" and he says, "By Allah, I will not speak to him." Then another man comes to him and says, "O so-and-so, I have heard that you swore you would not speak to so-and-so, and he is a good man. Speak to him." And he says, "By Allah, I will not speak to him." How many oaths is that?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : And the matter sworn upon is one. So if he speaks to him, he is only required to pay one expiation. Why? Because the matter sworn upon is one thing. Likewise, if the oath is one and the matter sworn upon is multiple. An example of that is: he says, "By Allah, I will not wear this garment, I will not eat this meat, and I will not leave the house." How many oaths is that?
The student: Three.
The Shaykh : No.
The student: One.
The Shaykh : The oath is one and the matter sworn upon is three. So he is only required to pay one expiation. Thus, the rule is: if the matter sworn upon is one thing, its expiation is one, even if the oaths are multiple. And if the oath is one, its expiation is one, even if the matter sworn upon is multiple. However, if the oaths are multiple and the matter sworn upon is multiple, such as if he says, "By Allah, I will not wear this garment. By Allah, I will not eat this food. By Allah, I will not leave the house." Here, there is multiplicity in the oaths and in the matter sworn upon. So if he breaks the oath, he is required to pay an expiation for each one. How many expiations is he required to pay in the example we mentioned? Three expiations. And some scholars said: one expiation is sufficient for him. And based on this opinion, we say: if a person takes many oaths and does not know how many they are, what is sufficient for him? One expiation. Because some scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, said: as long as the cause is one thing, one expiation is sufficient. And they analogized that to what? They said: a person urinates, defecates, passes wind, sleeps, and eats camel meat. How many types is that? Five types, and one ablution is sufficient for him. But what we see is that whenever the oaths are multiple and the matter sworn upon is multiple, he is required to pay an expiation for each oath. And we say to the questioner: you are not required to expiate except for what you know. And for what you are in doubt about, there is no expiation on you for it. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. The questioner asks: what is the ruling?
The Shaykh : There is a benefit in this: if a person says, "By Allah, if Allah wills, I will not leave this house," and he leaves, is there an expiation on him or not? There is no expiation on him. Why? Because he said, "if Allah wills." And whenever a person couples "if Allah wills" with his oath, there is no expiation on him. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.