The Ruling on One Who Swears an Oath and Breaks It
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Question:
If I swear that a person will not do such-and-such, and he does it, thereby breaking my oath, and I have no power to compel him, what should I do? Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
Whoever swears an oath and breaks it must expiate for his oath; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith:Sunan an-Nasa'i 3780Sahih (Darussalam), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 2108Sahih (Darussalam), and Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah 5:89] the verse [Al-Ma'idah: 89].
So if you swear to a person, saying: "By Allah, you will eat," or "By Allah, you will eat this," or "By Allah, you will take this amount," and he refuses, you must pay the expiation. It is: feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave; and whoever cannot find the means to do so must fast for three days; based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Ma'idah: 89].
A person should guard his tongue from oaths, so he should not swear except when there is a pressing need for it. And if he swears, saying: "By Allah, you will eat this dinner," or "By Allah, you will take this assistance," or "By Allah, you will do this," and he refuses, he must expiate for his oath.
If I swear that a person will not do such-and-such, and he does it, thereby breaking my oath, and I have no power to compel him, what should I do? Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
Whoever swears an oath and breaks it must expiate for his oath; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith:
By Allah, I do not swear an oath and then see something better than it, but I offer expiation for my oath and do that which is better.
إني والله لا أحلف على يمين فأرى غيرها خيرًا منها، إلا كفرت عن يميني، وأتيت الذي هو خيرWhoever swears an oath then sees that something else is better than it, let him do that which is better and offer expiation for what he swore about.
من حلف على يمين فرأى غيرها خيرًا منها، فليأتِ الذي هو خير وليكفر عن يمينهAllah 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. So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people
لاَ يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللّهُ بِاللَّغْوِ فِي أَيْمَانِكُمْ وَلَكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ الأَيْمَانَ فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَاكِينَSo if you swear to a person, saying: "By Allah, you will eat," or "By Allah, you will eat this," or "By Allah, you will take this amount," and he refuses, you must pay the expiation. It is: feeding ten poor people, or clothing them, or freeing a slave; and whoever cannot find the means to do so must fast for three days; based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
but He will impose blame upon you for [breaking] what you intended of oaths. So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your [own] families or clothing them or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required]. That is the expiation for oaths when you have sworn. But guard your oaths. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be grateful.
وَلَكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ الأَيْمَانَ فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَاكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلاَثَةِ أَيَّامٍ ذَلِكَ كَفَّارَةُ أَيْمَانِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ وَاحْفَظُواْ أَيْمَانَكُمْ كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَA person should guard his tongue from oaths, so he should not swear except when there is a pressing need for it. And if he swears, saying: "By Allah, you will eat this dinner," or "By Allah, you will take this assistance," or "By Allah, you will do this," and he refuses, he must expiate for his oath.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.