Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, in what he quoted from 'Adi ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say An oath is swearing by Allah (Mighty and Majestic), or by one of His names, or by one of His attributes. It is not permissible to swear by other than Allah, not by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), not by Jibril, and not by any of the creation, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Sahih al-Bukhari 2679 And he said Riyad as-Salihin 1711 So whoever swears by other than Allah is sinful, and there is no oath upon him because it is an oath that has not been established, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Sahih Muslim 1718b And a person should not swear often, for this is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted according to the opinion of some exegetes. He said meaning: do not swear often by Allah. And when you swear, you should qualify the oath with the will of Allah, saying “By Allah, if Allah wills” so that you benefit from two great benefits:
The first benefit is that what you swore to will be facilitated for you.
And the second benefit is that if you break the oath, there is no expiation upon you. Whoever swears an oath and says “if Allah wills” has not broken it, even if he contradicts what he swore to. However, the oath that necessitates expiation is an oath regarding a future matter.
As for an oath regarding a past matter, there is no expiation in it. But if the one who swore is lying, he is sinful; and if he is truthful, there is nothing upon him. So regarding swearing about a past matter, you are not asked whether there is an expiation upon you or not, because there is no expiation for an oath regarding a past matter. Rather, the question is whether he is sinful or safe? If he is truthful, he is safe; and if he is lying, he is sinful.
An example of this is if someone says “By Allah, I did not do such-and-such” In this case, there is no expiation upon him, whether he is truthful or lying. But if he is truthful that he did not do it, he is safe from sin; and if he is lying, meaning if he did do it, he is sinful. As for the oath that involves expiation, it is the one regarding a future matter. So if you swear to a future matter and say “By Allah, I will not do such-and-such,” we say: if you do it, the expiation is obligatory upon you; and if you do not do it, there is no expiation upon you. “By Allah, I will not do such-and-such” We say now that this is an established oath. If you do it, the expiation is obligatory upon you; and if you do not do it, there is no expiation upon you. But is it better for me to do what I swore to leave, or is it better not to do it? In this hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that if you swear an oath and see that there is something more pious than it, expiate for your oath and do that which is more pious.
So if someone says “By Allah, I will not speak to so-and-so” and he is a Muslim, then what is more pious for Allah is to speak to him, because boycotting a Muslim is forbidden. So speak to him and expiate for your oath, because this is more pious for Allah. And if you said “By Allah, I will not visit my relative” then we say here that visiting a relative is maintaining family ties, and maintaining family ties is obligatory. So visit your relative and expiate for your oath, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saysSunan an-Nasa'i 3781Hasan (Darussalam) And so you can draw an analogy from this. So the summary now is that we say: an oath regarding a past matter is not investigated for expiation because there is no expiation in it. But either the one who swore is safe or he is sinful. If he is lying, he is sinful; and if he is truthful, he is safe. The oath regarding the future is the one that has expiation. So if a person swears to a future matter and contradicts what he swore to, the expiation is obligatory upon him, unless he couples his oath with the will of Allah and says “if Allah wills.” Then there is no expiation upon him even if he contradicts it. And Allah is the One who grants success.
The reader: 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.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, in what he quoted from 'Adi ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say
Whoever swears an oath and then sees that there is something more pious than it, let him do that which is more pious.
من حلف على يمين فرأى غيرها أتقى لله منها فليأت الذي هو أتقىWhoever has to take an oath should swear by Allah or remain silent.
من كان حالفا فليحلف بالله أو ليصمتHe who swears by anyone or anything other than Allah, has indeed committed an act of Kufr or Shirk
من حلف بغير الله فقد كفر أو أشركHe who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملا ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردAnd keep your oaths
واحفظوا أيمانكمAnd keep your oaths
واحفظوا أيمانكمThe first benefit is that what you swore to will be facilitated for you.
And the second benefit is that if you break the oath, there is no expiation upon you. Whoever swears an oath and says “if Allah wills” has not broken it, even if he contradicts what he swore to. However, the oath that necessitates expiation is an oath regarding a future matter.
As for an oath regarding a past matter, there is no expiation in it. But if the one who swore is lying, he is sinful; and if he is truthful, there is nothing upon him. So regarding swearing about a past matter, you are not asked whether there is an expiation upon you or not, because there is no expiation for an oath regarding a past matter. Rather, the question is whether he is sinful or safe? If he is truthful, he is safe; and if he is lying, he is sinful.
An example of this is if someone says “By Allah, I did not do such-and-such” In this case, there is no expiation upon him, whether he is truthful or lying. But if he is truthful that he did not do it, he is safe from sin; and if he is lying, meaning if he did do it, he is sinful. As for the oath that involves expiation, it is the one regarding a future matter. So if you swear to a future matter and say “By Allah, I will not do such-and-such,” we say: if you do it, the expiation is obligatory upon you; and if you do not do it, there is no expiation upon you. “By Allah, I will not do such-and-such” We say now that this is an established oath. If you do it, the expiation is obligatory upon you; and if you do not do it, there is no expiation upon you. But is it better for me to do what I swore to leave, or is it better not to do it? In this hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that if you swear an oath and see that there is something more pious than it, expiate for your oath and do that which is more pious.
So if someone says “By Allah, I will not speak to so-and-so” and he is a Muslim, then what is more pious for Allah is to speak to him, because boycotting a Muslim is forbidden. So speak to him and expiate for your oath, because this is more pious for Allah. And if you said “By Allah, I will not visit my relative” then we say here that visiting a relative is maintaining family ties, and maintaining family ties is obligatory. So visit your relative and expiate for your oath, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says
then sees something better than it, let him do that which is better.
فرأى غيرها أتقى لله منها فليكفر عن يمينه وليأت الذي هو خيرThe reader: 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.