Chapter on the recommendation for one who swears an oath and then sees something better than it to do that which is better, and then expiate for his oath.
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The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: "Chapter on the recommendation for one who swears an oath and then sees something better than it to do that which is better, and then expiate for his oath:
From 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me:Riyad as-Salihin 1715 Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1716 Narrated by Muslim.
And from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1649a Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1718 Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim ".
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author -may Allah have mercy on him- established this chapter in his book *Riyad al-Saliheen*, saying: "Chapter on the recommendation for one who swears an oath and then sees something better than it to expiate for his oath and do that which is better":
That is because if a person swears an oath regarding something, the best thing is for him not to break his oath, but to remain with what he swore to. However, if he swears to leave off an obligatory act, it is obligatory for him to break his oath and expiate for it. For example, if he says: "By Allah, I will not pray in congregation today," this is forbidden for him, because congregational prayer is obligatory. This may happen; for instance, his father might say to him: "Go pray," or his mother might say: "Go pray," and he says: "By Allah, I will not pray in congregation today, just to defy you." Some foolish people say this. If he swears, we say: This is not permissible; you must pray in congregation and expiate for your oath.
And if he swears and says: "By Allah, I will not speak to my cousin" due to a misunderstanding between them, for example, this is also forbidden because it is severing family ties and boycotting his brother. It is said to him: Speak to him and expiate for your oath. And if his father, for example, orders him to pray the regular voluntary prayer after the midday prayer, and he says: "By Allah, I will not pray it, just to defy you," we say: The best thing is for him to pray it and expiate for his oath, but it is not obligatory because the regular voluntary prayer after the midday prayer is not obligatory.
So the conclusion is that if a person swears an oath and then sees something better than it, let him expiate for his oath and do that which is better. He has the choice: if he wishes, he can do it and then expiate, or if he wishes, he can expiate and then do it.
The author mentioned hadiths, among them: The hadith of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6622 This is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for his action, he said: Sunan an-Nasa'i 3780Sahih (Darussalam):
Thus it is established, by the verbal and practical Sunnah, that if a person swears to something and sees something better than it, he expiates for his oath and does that which is better. But if that is not the case, the best thing is for him to remain with his oath and not break it, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:, and success is from Allah.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: "Chapter on the recommendation for one who swears an oath and then sees something better than it to do that which is better, and then expiate for his oath:
From 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me:
When you take an oath and consider something else to be better than it, make expiation for your oath and choose the better alternative.
وإذا حلفت على يمين فرأيت غيرها خيراً منها، فائت الذي هو خير، وكفِّر عن يمينكAnd from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
When you swear an oath and consider something else to be better than it, make expiation for your oath and do the thing that is better.
مَن حلف على يمين فرأى غيرها خيراً منها، فليكفر عن يمينه وليفعل الذي هو خيرAnd from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
So far as I am concerned, by Allah, if He so wills, I would not swear, but if, later on, I would see better than it, I (would break the vow) and expiate it and do that which is better.
إني والله -إن شاء الله- لا أحلف على يمين ثم أرى خيراً منها إلا كفرت عن يميني، وأتيت الذي هو خيرAnd from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Persistence in respect of his oath about his family is more sinful with Allah than the payment of its expiation prescribed by Allah.
لأن يَلَجَّ أحدكم في يمينه في أهله آثم له عند الله تعالى مِن أن يعطي كفارته التي فرض الله عليهThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author -may Allah have mercy on him- established this chapter in his book *Riyad al-Saliheen*, saying: "Chapter on the recommendation for one who swears an oath and then sees something better than it to expiate for his oath and do that which is better":
That is because if a person swears an oath regarding something, the best thing is for him not to break his oath, but to remain with what he swore to. However, if he swears to leave off an obligatory act, it is obligatory for him to break his oath and expiate for it. For example, if he says: "By Allah, I will not pray in congregation today," this is forbidden for him, because congregational prayer is obligatory. This may happen; for instance, his father might say to him: "Go pray," or his mother might say: "Go pray," and he says: "By Allah, I will not pray in congregation today, just to defy you." Some foolish people say this. If he swears, we say: This is not permissible; you must pray in congregation and expiate for your oath.
And if he swears and says: "By Allah, I will not speak to my cousin" due to a misunderstanding between them, for example, this is also forbidden because it is severing family ties and boycotting his brother. It is said to him: Speak to him and expiate for your oath. And if his father, for example, orders him to pray the regular voluntary prayer after the midday prayer, and he says: "By Allah, I will not pray it, just to defy you," we say: The best thing is for him to pray it and expiate for his oath, but it is not obligatory because the regular voluntary prayer after the midday prayer is not obligatory.
So the conclusion is that if a person swears an oath and then sees something better than it, let him expiate for his oath and do that which is better. He has the choice: if he wishes, he can do it and then expiate, or if he wishes, he can expiate and then do it.
The author mentioned hadiths, among them: The hadith of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
and whenever you take an oath to do something and later you find that something else is better than the first, then do the better one and make expiation for your oath.
إذا حلفت على يمين فرأيت غيرها خيرا منها فكفر عن يمينك وأت الذي هو خيرBy 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.
والله إن شاء الله إني لا أحلف على يمين فأرى غيرها خيرا منها ، إلا كفرت عن يميني وأتيت الذي هو خيرThus it is established, by the verbal and practical Sunnah, that if a person swears to something and sees something better than it, he expiates for his oath and does that which is better. But if that is not the case, the best thing is for him to remain with his oath and not break it, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: