He said: I used to write accounts and wages for my father one day, and a misunderstanding arose between two of the workers and my father regarding some rights, and I swore by Allah that I would not write.

The questioner : Welcome, Shaykh Muhammad.

The Shaykh : May Allah greet you, and welcome to you.

The questioner : Shaykh Muhammad: A message had reached us from the listener, sender E S A, and he did not mention in which country he is. We presented the beginning of the message, and there remained a question in it, or more than one question. He says: I used to write accounts and wages for my father one day, and a misunderstanding arose between two of the workers and my father regarding some rights, and I swore by Allah that I would not write due to the appearance of some doubts regarding the writing. Then afterwards, I wrote for others other than these two. What is the ruling on this, or on this oath? Knowing that I did not swear except for the reason mentioned, and I did not and will not write anything for these two people. May Allah guide you?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. We seek help from Allah the Exalted for success and correctness. We say first: Swearing by Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, if a person couples it with the will of Allah, then he owes nothing if he contradicts what he swore to, such as if he says, "By Allah, if Allah wills, I will not do such and such," and then he does it, or he says, "By Allah, if Allah wills, I will certainly do such and such," and he does not do it, then he owes nothing, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: As for if he does not say "if Allah wills" and swears an oath regarding a future matter, to do it or not to do it, and he does it, then if he has an intention, the ruling is based on his intention; or if he has a reason, the ruling is based on the reason; otherwise, the indication of the wording is considered. So, if we apply this to the brother's oath, we say: When he swore that he would not write, if his intention was that he would not write for these two only, then if he writes for others, he owes nothing, relying on the intention.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And if his intention was that he would not write absolutely, so that these problems do not occur, then he does not write for them or for anyone else. If he writes, it is obligatory for him to pay the expiation for an oath. The expiation for an oath is four things: three of them are by choice, and one is in order: freeing a slave, or feeding ten poor people, or clothing them. These three are by choice, meaning that doing any one of them suffices him. If he does not find [the means], then he fasts three consecutive days. Feeding the poor is done in two ways: sometimes he provides them breakfast or dinner, meaning he invites ten poor people to lunch so they eat and are satisfied, and this suffices him for the expiation. Or the second thing is that he gives them ownership of the food. If he gives them ownership of the food, he gives them rice, and I am speaking here regarding our country.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Because the middle of what we feed our families of food now is rice.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And Allah the Exalted said: Its amount is by the Prophetic sa' [a dry measure of about 3 kg], which is two kilograms and forty grams. This Prophetic sa' is given to four people, then another sa' to four people, then half a sa' to two people. It is good here, if he gives them, that he puts something with the rice to be a flavor for it, such as meat or other, to complete the feeding. If someone asks, "Do I distribute these measures one by one?" We say: No, it is not necessary. The important thing is that they are ten people, even if they are in one house, because the intention is ten persons, whether they are in one house or scattered. Some of the common people think that the expiation for an oath is fasting three days, and that is not the case, because fasting the three days is not permissible except if he is unable to feed ten poor people, or clothe them, or free a slave. Yes, that is correct.