A man swearing an oath while in a state where he may not control his senses
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Q: If a man swears to do something while in a state where he may not control his senses, is he required to declare himself a disbeliever? And what is that?
A: If a person swears to do something and does not do it, the expiation for the oath is obligatory upon him. For example, if he says, "By Allah, I will speak to so-and-so," or "By Allah, I will visit him," or "By Allah, I will pray such and such," or the like, and he does not do what he swore to do, then the expiation for the oath is obligatory upon him if he is sane and knows what he is saying. However, if anger has overcome him and he is not in his right mind, the oath is not established; because awareness of what one is saying is necessary. If anger overcomes him to the point where he does not understand what he is saying and cannot control what he is saying, then there is no expiation upon him, just as with the insane, the delirious, and the sleeping person. He may leave what he swore to do if he sees the benefit in doing so, and he expiates for his oath, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 6622 It is agreed upon that it is authentic. So if he swears not to visit so-and-so, and then he sees that visiting him is better, he visits him and expiates for his oath, and so on with similar matters. There is no harm in performing the expiation early or delaying it. And success is from Allah.
A: If a person swears to do something and does not do it, the expiation for the oath is obligatory upon him. For example, if he says, "By Allah, I will speak to so-and-so," or "By Allah, I will visit him," or "By Allah, I will pray such and such," or the like, and he does not do what he swore to do, then the expiation for the oath is obligatory upon him if he is sane and knows what he is saying. However, if anger has overcome him and he is not in his right mind, the oath is not established; because awareness of what one is saying is necessary. If anger overcomes him to the point where he does not understand what he is saying and cannot control what he is saying, then there is no expiation upon him, just as with the insane, the delirious, and the sleeping person. He may leave what he swore to do if he sees the benefit in doing so, and he expiates for his oath, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
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 خيرًا منها فكفر عن يمينك وأت الذي هو خير
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.
