Follow-up to the ruling on one who swears many oaths and does not fulfill them and does not know their number. What is the expiation for an oath?
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The questioner : May Allah guide you, O Shaykh: Regarding the expiation for oaths, we wanted to learn what its amount is? And if a person sometimes swears by Allah and then does not fulfill his oaths, if I do not know the exact number, what is obligatory upon him?
The Shaykh : First: We must know that it is not befitting for a person to swear many oaths, for Allah the Exalted mentioned the excessive swearing of oaths in a form of blame, saying:[Al-Qalam 68:10] And some scholars said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: meaning: Do not swear many oaths. This is the first point.
Second: If it happens that he swears, let him connect his oath by saying: "If Allah wills," because if he connects his oath by saying "If Allah wills," he does not break his oath, even if he contradicts what he swore to. This is an easy matter; if a person accustoms his tongue to saying "If Allah wills" with every oath, it becomes easy for him.
Third: If he swears, the oath is of two types: an oath that is not intended, which is what passes from a person without intention, such as saying: "Will you go with me to so-and-so?" He says: "No, by Allah, I am not going." Or: "Sit down," he says: "No, by Allah, I am not sitting." This is not an oath for which he is held accountable, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:89] You did not make a firm resolve in your heart, but it passed from your tongue out of habit. This does not harm.
Fourth: An oath regarding the past does not have an expiation, but if the person is truthful, he is a truthful, pious person, and if he is lying, he is sinful. Do you understand? So if you say: "By Allah! I did not do such-and-such," there is no expiation upon you, even if you did do it, because it is regarding what? Regarding something in the past. There is absolutely no expiation for the past, but either you are truthful and you are pious, or you are lying and you are sinful. Do you understand?
So if the oath is regarding the future, and you intended to make it with a firm resolve, and you did not say "If Allah wills" in it, and then you contradicted what you swore to, the expiation is upon you.
The expiation is of four types: feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave, or fasting three days. But the first three are a choice; do whichever you wish of them. And the fourth, which is fasting, is if you are unable to do the three, then fast three days.
Feeding the ten poor people has two characteristics: The first characteristic is that you prepare food, lunch or dinner, and then you invite ten people to eat lunch or dinner.
Or you give the ten people food, rice with meat, and two and a half sa' of rice with meat is sufficient for the ten people.
So if you swore multiple oaths, if the thing sworn upon is one thing, one expiation suffices for you. And if it is multiple, there is an expiation for each oath. An example of that: If you say: "By Allah! I will not enter this house."
This is an oath. Then another person meets you and says: "Let us go to so-and-so."
You say: "By Allah! I will not enter his house."
This is an oath. Then a third person says to you: "Let us go to so-and-so."
So you say: "By Allah! I will not enter his house."
This is also a third oath, but the thing sworn upon is one thing. This suffices you with one expiation, because the thing sworn upon is one thing.
As for when the thing sworn upon is multiple, we look: if the oath is one, one expiation suffices. For example, if you say: "By Allah, I will not enter this house, I will not talk to so-and-so, and I will not ride this car."
The thing sworn upon is now multiple, but the oath is one. This also suffices with one expiation.
As for when the oaths and the things sworn upon are multiple, you have an expiation for each one. And if you doubt whether you have ten expiations or five, make it five, because the certainty is what is known, and what is added is doubtful.
The Shaykh : First: We must know that it is not befitting for a person to swear many oaths, for Allah the Exalted mentioned the excessive swearing of oaths in a form of blame, saying:
And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer
وَلا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَهِينٍAnd keep your oaths
وَاحْفَظُوا أَيْمَانَكُمْSecond: If it happens that he swears, let him connect his oath by saying: "If Allah wills," because if he connects his oath by saying "If Allah wills," he does not break his oath, even if he contradicts what he swore to. This is an easy matter; if a person accustoms his tongue to saying "If Allah wills" with every oath, it becomes easy for him.
Third: If he swears, the oath is of two types: an oath that is not intended, which is what passes from a person without intention, such as saying: "Will you go with me to so-and-so?" He says: "No, by Allah, I am not going." Or: "Sit down," he says: "No, by Allah, I am not sitting." This is not an oath for which he is held accountable, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Allah will not impose blame upon you for what is meaningless in your oaths, but He will impose blame upon you for [breaking] what you intended of oaths
لا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللَّهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا عَقَّدْتُمُ الْأَيْمَانَFourth: An oath regarding the past does not have an expiation, but if the person is truthful, he is a truthful, pious person, and if he is lying, he is sinful. Do you understand? So if you say: "By Allah! I did not do such-and-such," there is no expiation upon you, even if you did do it, because it is regarding what? Regarding something in the past. There is absolutely no expiation for the past, but either you are truthful and you are pious, or you are lying and you are sinful. Do you understand?
So if the oath is regarding the future, and you intended to make it with a firm resolve, and you did not say "If Allah wills" in it, and then you contradicted what you swore to, the expiation is upon you.
The expiation is of four types: feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave, or fasting three days. But the first three are a choice; do whichever you wish of them. And the fourth, which is fasting, is if you are unable to do the three, then fast three days.
Feeding the ten poor people has two characteristics: The first characteristic is that you prepare food, lunch or dinner, and then you invite ten people to eat lunch or dinner.
Or you give the ten people food, rice with meat, and two and a half sa' of rice with meat is sufficient for the ten people.
So if you swore multiple oaths, if the thing sworn upon is one thing, one expiation suffices for you. And if it is multiple, there is an expiation for each oath. An example of that: If you say: "By Allah! I will not enter this house."
This is an oath. Then another person meets you and says: "Let us go to so-and-so."
You say: "By Allah! I will not enter his house."
This is an oath. Then a third person says to you: "Let us go to so-and-so."
So you say: "By Allah! I will not enter his house."
This is also a third oath, but the thing sworn upon is one thing. This suffices you with one expiation, because the thing sworn upon is one thing.
As for when the thing sworn upon is multiple, we look: if the oath is one, one expiation suffices. For example, if you say: "By Allah, I will not enter this house, I will not talk to so-and-so, and I will not ride this car."
The thing sworn upon is now multiple, but the oath is one. This also suffices with one expiation.
As for when the oaths and the things sworn upon are multiple, you have an expiation for each one. And if you doubt whether you have ten expiations or five, make it five, because the certainty is what is known, and what is added is doubtful.